Fuel prices affecting garbage rates

Rising oil prices have put a damper not only on the family vacation and personal budgets but also on, of all things, the family garbage can.

The reason Mom and Dad are cutting down on the across-town shopping trips also is the reason it's becoming more costly to get rid of egg cartons and food wrappers.

Some cities across the Wasatch Front have already felt the pain at the pump and had to increase garbage-pickup fees — and officials in most others say they will probably have to raise rates in the next year as diesel prices continue to increase.

Most cities in Utah contract with companies to pick up residents' garbage.

Waste Management, the largest garbage collector in northern Utah, serves almost two dozen cities in Utah, Salt Lake, Davis and Weber counties. The average truck uses about 3.5 gallons of fuel per hour, or nearly 110,000 gallons per month, said Susan Hayward, Utah spokeswoman for Waste Management. The current average price of diesel fuel in Utah is $4.76 per gallon.

"Rising fuel prices are a huge impact," she said.

"We're looking at ways to be more efficient," Hayward added, including designing more-efficient routes and backing up less.

The company normally signs multi-year contracts with fuel surcharges built in, so when prices rise or fall, that surcharge mimics them, Hayward said. The company uses a calculation tied to the national average for diesel fuel, which is reported every Monday by the Energy Information Administration.

Some cities are already raising the cost of garbage pickup. Farmington residents will see a slight increase starting in July. The rate per can will increase by 50 cents a month to keep Robinson Waste's garbage trucks rolling in the city through 2009.

Saratoga Springs, which contracts with Allied Waste, has also seen an increase.

"They give us an amount per year, based on certain levels, and we turn around and charge our customers and they pay us for it," said Spencer Kyle, Saratoga Springs assistant city manager. "The last couple years, our rates have gone up mostly due to gas prices."

Residents currently pay $11.45 as a base rate for garbage pickup, but the City Council will be considering an increase at an upcoming meeting.

Sanitation services run by cities and sanitation districts are looking for ways to work more efficiently, whether through better use of their trucks or other alternatives.

Salt Lake City sanitation hope to reduce fuel consumption as part of a citywide directive of Mayor Ralph Becker and the City Council. The city's budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year included a statement of the council's intent that the city develop a plan for reducing fuel usage in city-owned vehicles and explore the use of alternative-fuel vehicles.