The Seattle City Council voted to raise the city’s solid-waste services rates by an average of 4.4 percent per year over the next three years.
The Seattle City Council voted Monday to raise the city’s solid-waste services rates by an average of 4.4 percent per year over the next three years.
Seattle’s garbage, recycling and composting rates will increase 7.2 percent in 2017, 1.9 percent in 2018 and 4 percent in 2019, effective on April 1 of each year.
The increases will apply to residential and commercial customers alike.
The monthly solid-waste bill for a typical residential customer — someone with one 32-gallon garbage can, one 96-gallon food- and yard-waste container and one 96-gallon recycling cart — will rise from $44.85 to $50.95 in 2019, according to Seattle Public Utilities (SPU).
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The increases are part of SPU’s long-term strategic business plan, which the council approved in 2014. The plan calls for average hikes of 4.6 percent per year through 2020 across all of SPU’s services, including water, sewer and drainage services.
According to SPU, the city’s solid-waste rates must be raised to help pay for various initiatives and projects, including:
• An expansion of Seattle’s Utility Discount Program, which offers 50 percent off SPU bills and 60 percent of City Light bills for low-income residents.
• An expansion of Seattle’s Clean City programs, which combat graffiti, illegal dumping and littering.
• Ongoing cleanups of homeless encampments.
• The design and construction of a new and improved recycling and reuse center, which will be built on the old South Transfer Station site in South Park.
• The completion of the city’s new North Transfer Station, which is expected to open to the public by the end of this year.
The increases approved Monday will generate an additional $9.5 million next year, according to the council’s summary and fiscal note. The rates were last adjusted in 2014 for 2015 and 2016.
Commercial solid-waste bills will rise by varying amounts, depending on the type and frequency of service.
For example, a convenience store with a 3-cubic-yard dumpster collected weekly will see its monthly bill increase $31.18 in 2017, then $8.66 in 2018 and $16.62 in 2019.
A 30-unit apartment building with a 3-cubic-yard dumpster, a 96-gallon food-waste container and 3-cubic-yard recycling bin will see its monthly bill increase $36.55 in 2017, $10.45 in 2018 and $22.28 in 2019.