ST. GEORGE — Much of Washington County will be entering into a new 10-year contract for waste removal and recycling starting next month.
An agreement between Republic Services and the county’s solid waste district has been approved by the county’s various municipalities and more recently by the County Commission.
However, the agreement came back to the commission last Tuesday to add $0.10 cents to original administrative fee paid to the solid water district by residents who live in the unincorporated parts of the county.
As before, the updated agreement was unanimously approved by the County Commission.
“The (waste district) missed a $0.10 increase on one of the items,” County Commission Chair Gil Almquist said.
While it may be easy to overlook, Almquist said that $0.10, when multiplied by the solid waste district’s customers in unincorporated areas, is estimated to be around $80,000 annually.
The original administrative fee proposed by the solid waste district was $4.45 per month, which will now be $4.55 per month. This rate will also be subject to an annual increase of $0.10.
That rate is on top of Republic Service’s fee for residential trash removal, which is $6.90 and subject to a 2.5% annual increase.
That is a total monthly charge of $11.45 for basic trash removal service for the first year of the 10-year contract and applies to the unincorporated portions of the county that receive roadside trash collection service from Republic. This includes the Pine Valley and Central areas.
For residents of the Kolob area, the charge is one-half of the fees above.
The total, overall charge is anticipated to be around $13.67 by the 10th year of the contract.
Unlike 63% of the county who opted in to a renewed Blu-Can recycling program following a three-month opt out period last year, residents in the unincorporated parts of Washington County are not required to use the recycling program.
Enterprise, Apple Valley and New Harmony are also exempt from the recycling program and its additional fees.
Fifty-one percent of the county needed to participate in a new recycling program in order for it to remain financially viable. The 63% that opted into the new program is less than the 87% that signed onto the original recycling service in 2015.
The new contract with Republic services goes into effect Feb. 1 and concludes Dec. 31, 2030.
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