Waste collection is set to get more expensive for thousands of people in unincorporated Buncombe County, and a fee increase for recycling services could be coming, too.
On Monday, Dec. 5, the North Carolina Regional Vice President of Waste Pro, Chip Gingle, spoke to Buncombe County Commissioners at the commission briefing. He gave commissioners a courtesy notification of a fee increase, saying Waste Pro will be increasing waste collection fees by 7.9% starting Jan. 1, 2023. This would be the second year in a row in which Waste Pro has increased that fee; it was increased by 6.9% the previous year. No increase was allowed prior to that in the first two years of the company's contract with Buncombe County.
This fee increase is automatic and is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The automatic CPI hike is allowed per the company's contract with the county. Customers will notice their bills go from $20.54 a month to $22.16 per month, an increase of $1.62, starting in 2023.
Gingle also proposed another fee increase, but this one would require approval by county commissioners. He requested monthly recycling fees be increased by $.39, saying the cost to process recyclables has increased exponentially, by 225% year-over-year. In his presentation, he also spoke about the impact of rising fuel costs.
"We came in asking for a number much more than that," Gingle said. "That 225% increase works roughly out to about $2.35 per home, is what the increase in recycling goods is actually costing us."
Waste Pro provided the following statement on both increases:
Waste Pro is a proud vendor to Buncombe County servicing 34,900 residents equating to more than 3.6 million pick-ups per year. Per our contractual agreement with the county, Waste Pro is granted an annual CPI adjustment.
Additionally, Waste Pro is allowed to petition the county due to extraordinary changes that are dually justified as the recycle commodity markets continue to drop while the cost to process recyclables has increased 225% year over year. We are working with the County to request an extraordinary rate increase of $0.39 per home due in addition to the annual CPI increase.
Buncombe County's current five-year contract with Waste Pro started Jan. 1, 2020. The contract is for weekly trash pickup and recycling collection every other week in the unincorporated areas of Buncombe County.
While the county's 2021 Community Survey indicates favorable sentiment toward Waste Pro, there have been many complaints over the last couple of years from citizens who allege they haven't received the services they pay for as frequently as promised. From May to October of 2021, county solid waste officials logged and tracked 230 complaints about Waste Pro from residents, even hitting the company with a penalty that summer.
A county spokesperson told News 13 that from January to October of this year, county officials received 149 complaints about Waste Pro, and levied a $14,500 penalty on the company in August. The county's contract with Waste Pro has a mechanism for levying penalties due to certain issues with service.
At the commission briefing on Monday, Gingle spoke about issues the company, like many employers, has faced.
"Very tough market to recruit," Gingle said. "There are definitely labor shortages, especially in this area but we're just working hard to overcome that."
Gingle spoke about how they're working to attract employees by increasing hourly wages by 17.4% this year and offering sign-on and referral bonuses. In the meantime, they're working through the staffing shortage by leveraging manpower from another area.
"We actually bring in employees from Charlotte to help make sure that the routes are run on time here in this marketplace," he said. "We put them up in hotels, we do all of that when we are short. Right now, we are currently short just a few drivers. We look to get that shored up soon."
He added, as part of their ongoing investments, they're adding several new trucks to help reduce injury risks and help with narrow roads.
County commissioners are expected to vote on the recycling fee increase at an upcoming meeting. If approved, that would go into effect Jan. 3, 2022 according to county documents.