Upper Arlington trash bills to increase by about $6 per month in 2023
Upper Arlington residents will see the cost of trash and recycling collections rise by more than $6 in 2023 as part of the city's new contract for services.
In February 2018, Upper Arlington City Council voted to do away with a longtime pay-as-you-throw policy, whereby residents bought and affixed trash stickers on each can of trash, yard waste or built item every time they wanted a pickup.
In its place, residents were given options of paying $17 to $17.50 per month and given the choice of using 64-gallon recycling bins and either 64-gallon or 96-gallon trash bins for weekly curbside pickup.
The result, according to a recent community survey, was the percentage of residents who rated the city's garbage collection services as "excellent" or "good" rose from 58% in 2017 to 93% in 2022. Likewise, those who rated the city's recycling and yard waste collection services as "excellent" or "good" increased from 68% and 64%, respectively, in 2017, to 92% and 89%, respectively, in 2022.
In keeping with those trends, most residents might be pleased to find out the way the city handles solid waste and recycling collections over the next five years won't change. The city's trash hauler also won't change as Local Waste Services will be given a new five-year contract to begin in April 2023.
What will change is the price.
Over the past five years, most households paid a fixed rate of $17.75 per month, or $18.92 per month when recycling collections were included. Residents aged 60 and older received 10% discounts, and paid $17.17 per month.
Under the new contract, which is being approved administratively and does not require a vote by council, the price for most residents will increase by $6.12 per month, with trash collection costs going up to $23.75 per month for trash collections, and costs for trash and recycling services jumping to $25.04 per month.
Seniors still will receive a 10% discount and will play $22.57 per month.
"That will be a five-year, fixed rate, just like we had the last time in our current contract," said Katy Rees, a performance analyst for the city's Public Service Department. "So, that will take care of us through March of 2028.
"There are no major changes to the services at all. You'll still have your two containers for trash, recycling, yard waste and bulk pickup."
Rees and Gary Wilfong, the city's public service director, provided the update on the city's next solid waste and recycling contract during council's Sept. 19 meeting.
They said the prices are in line with what other Franklin County communities are paying for their solid waste and recycling collection services.
However, due to differing schedules that saw their contracts set to expire in the first quarter of this year, those other communities locked in slightly lower rates, they said.
"Dublin, Westerville, New Albany, Bexley, they took their contracts to bid, I want to say in 2021, for contracts to start in 2022 and they are $22.60 or $22.70 (for trash collection)," Rees said. "So, they're just a dollar behind us, but they would've bid it out two years ago.
"It landed right where we thought it would price wise."
While the prices are similar, Wilfong said the city didn't ask Local Waste what was driving up prices for UA's contract, although he guessed the rising costs for fuel and employees were the primary reasons.
"The price was definitely comparable (to other communities), but as part of this increase there was no justification for the increase," Wilfong said. "I don't know the specifics in that other than just, obviously, inflation from five years ago is probably, I'm sure, the bulk of that."
According to Rees, 13,174 households currently participate in the city's solid waste and recycling program. That includes single-family households and apartments and condominiums that have opted into it.
Of those, 3,274 qualify for the senior discount.
City Finance Director Brent Lewis said his office is determining how the increased costs will be billed to residents, given that the new contract and price points don't launch until April. He said it's likely the new rate will be applied to the first trash bill that goes to residents in January.
"We won't do a blended rate because you're billing twice a year and a lot of people have their bills set up via automatic pay," Lewis said. "If you do a blended rate, then they're all going to be short on the second bill because now that second bill is more and now you're getting penalties and interest for paying late.
"So, we'll probably charge the entire amount for both bills. It's right around $150 per bill, so about $300 for the year. When you have a better idea of what the fund balance is at the end of 2023, if you want to make the decision to do 'X,' then we can have that discussion to 'X' for 2024."
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Upper Arlington trash bills to increase by about $6 per month in 2023
