Castlegar residents will be paying more for waste collection services for the rest of 2023 and 2024.

Reasons for the increase include inflation, the addition of organics collection, an increase in the new five-year contract with Waste Management and the need to recover a $60,665 increase associated with a temporary contract with Waste Management that covered April 1 – Aug. 21, 2023.

For 2023 residents will be charged an annual rate of $247.39. That breaks down to $4.75 a week. Included in the total cost is garbage ($143.65), recycling ($22.23), organics ($43.95) and operating the yard waste facility ($37.56).

2024 will be the first full year of the city’s new curbside program that includes collection of garbage, recycling, yard waste and organics. Residents will notice the largest increase in waste fees for the year are connected to the organics program as the program was only in place for about five months of 2023.

Residents will be charged an annual rate of $322.18. That breaks down to $6.20 a week. Included in the total cost is garbage ($128.40), recycling ($27.73), organics ($132.87) and operating the yard waste facility ($33.18).

The garbage portion of the bill will actually go down, due to the fact that tipping fees at the landfill will be reduced through diversion of organics to the regional district’s compost facility. It costs the city $137 per ton of garbage that is dumped and $88 per ton of organics.

The city based their fees on the assumption that 30 per cent of the city’s garbage will now be diverted to the organics stream. Further cost savings could be found if residents divert more of their garbage.

Operating the city’s yard waste facility at the Castlegar Community Complex has been extended until at least through most of 2024. Council plans to reexamine the facility once the new organics program has been running for about a year.

Maintaining the facility costs the city about $125,000 per year, which is then divided among property owners to the tune of about $35 per property per year.

The facility presents a duplication of services as most yard waste can now be placed in resident’s organics bins. Due to regulation changes, the city is no longer able to compost the materials collected onsite. They have to be transferred elsewhere for composting.

Final adoption of the rates is scheduled for the Sept. 5 city council meeting.

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betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com
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