On March 20, the Metro Council reduced the per-ton rates charged to garbage haulers at the two Metro-owned transfer stations.
The cost of providing garbage disposal service is decreasing for two reasons, according to Metro assistant finance director Brian Kennedy.
"There has been an increase in the amount of tonnage collected, and we expect that to continue, plus costs are growing slightly slower than average," Kennedy said.
Each year Metro chief operating officer Martha Bennett proposes changes to the solid waste rates as a part of the budget process. The fees for garbage and compost are set at a rate that will only cover the cost of providing the service, so when costs decrease or revenues increase those profits could be passed along to the consumer.
In the end, local governments are chiefly responsible for setting garbage rates; while Metro adjusts its garbage rates annually, most local governments adjust rates every few years.
For the coming fiscal year, this savings translates into a one-dollar decrease in the garbage tip fee and an 89-cent decrease in the yard debris tip fee. The tip fee is the amount charged to all waste collectors to dump one ton of materials into a Metro collection facility.
Based on the same ordinance, the tip fee for residential composting will increase by 3.7 percent and the fee for commercial composting will increase 5.7 percent. The Metro Council no longer subsidizes the cost of composting with general funds.
"The increase in this rate is completely a function of the contract price, (compost) tonnage is expected to by flat compared with 2013," Kennedy said.
Metro projects the amount of compost it collects to be flat because there are more outside companies collecting compostable materials. With less materials coming in, Metro has to increase prices to cover the cost of the service.
Metro has also started sending compost materials to a different processor, which recovers energy from the waste, but at a higher cost. Kennedy said this is consistent with Metro's policy to manage materials according to their highest and best use.
"In fiscal year 2014-15, Metro expects to deliver over 90 percent of its commercial organics to an energy recovery processor," Kennedy said.
Based on the rate changes to compost and garbage the amount of revenue collected by Metro is projected to increase by $4.2 million in the next fiscal year. This additional revenue will be used to cover the higher costs associated with collecting more garbage.
"Increased tonnage at Metro facilities results in higher transfer station operating, transport, and landfill costs," Kennedy said.
Note: An earlier version of this story said that consumers could see a decrease in their garbage rates. Based on increases to compost charges and other dynamics of the region's solid waste system, that appears unlikely to happen. This version has been corrected.