City of Joplin explains rising trash pickup rates
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Joplin residents will soon pay more for trash service, and the city says a combination of inflation, changing landfill rules and expanded service is behind the increase.
The new base rate will be $17.42 a month beginning Oct. 1 under Joplin’s renewed contract with Republic Services.
The current trash rate is $12.84, plus a 55-cent city administrative fee.
The city says one reason for the increase is simple inflation.
Joplin negotiates a new trash contract roughly every five years, and officials say the cost of labor, fuel, trucks and other operating expenses has risen substantially since the last agreement.
That mirrors a national trend.
Federal data show garbage and trash collection prices were 4.4% higher in August than a year earlier, compared with 3.4% inflation across all consumer goods and services.
Joplin is also changing how yard waste is handled.
The city says the Kansas landfill currently receiving Joplin’s trash is nearing capacity, meaning Republic Services will eventually begin hauling the city’s waste to a Missouri landfill.
Missouri has generally prohibited yard waste from being dumped in solid waste disposal areas since 1992. The law itself is not new, but Joplin’s move away from the Kansas landfill means the restriction will now have a greater impact on how the city’s waste is collected.
Instead of grass, leaves and other yard waste riding in the same truck as household garbage, Republic Services will collect it separately and take it for composting.
The city says that requires additional trucks and drivers. About $3 of the new monthly bill is tied to the separate yard-waste service.
Residents will receive biweekly yard-waste collection as part of the base price, although they must sign up with Republic Services to use it.
Yard waste must be placed in approved biodegradable paper bags or otherwise prepared under the new collection rules.
The $17.42 monthly rate also includes one trash cart, weekly garbage pickup and up to four scheduled bulky-item pickups each year.
A second trash cart will cost an additional $5.50 a month. Optional curbside recycling will cost $5.26 a month.
City officials say Republic Services was the lowest and best of three bids submitted for the new contract.
The City Council also considered making recycling mandatory but kept it optional in an effort to limit how much the base rate would increase.
