Editor’s note: This story was updated with new information after the initial print deadline. – MD
Solid waste pickup and drop-off rates will be going up across Clallam County in 2024.
Effective Jan. 1, patrons receiving curbside pickup through the City of Port Angeles and Waste Connections – Olympic Disposal will see higher rates — ranging from 7.7%-23%, following a solid waste cost of service analysis recommendation.
Additionally, the Regional Transfer Station and Blue Mountain Transfer Station will see a 25.8% increase for self-haulers and 34.8% for commercial haulers.
City of Port Angeles city councilors voted for the increases on Oct. 17 as part of the city’s proposed electric, solid waste and stormwater rates for 2024-25.
Port Angeles owns the Regional Transfer Station and took over operations on March 1, 2022, from Waste Connections after concerns of “repeated requests in 2017-2018 from Waste Connections for increases outside of the scope of the City’s contract,” city staff wrote in an email response to questions on the newest rate increases.
They estimated hauling rates would have gone up 40% or more under Waste Connections.
“That increase would have been compounded annually with the escalation clauses in the agreement, which would have made the costs unbearable for ratepayers in Clallam County,” Port Angeles city staff wrote.
“It likely would have also resulted in more garbage dumped on roadsides and in ditches, or burned, which would have caused the release of toxins and cost us dearly in the air quality that we all enjoy.”
Under new rates, those in the City of Port Angeles with weekly pickup will see an 8.5% increase, while every other week pickup will increase 16.6%, and commercial pickup up 7.7%. Recycling will remain included in the costs.
Additionally, the city council approved Port Angeles and the Transfer Stations’ rates will carry through Dec. 31, 2025, with city staff writing they intend to “stagger rates between utilities so they do not all change at one time.”
City of PA staff wrote in the Oct. 17 council packet that “(solid waste) increases are relative to inflation, growing industry costs for recycling and costs associated with transitioning to city services at the Transfer Station as well as the ($1.9 million) settlement payment to Waste Connections.”
Staff wrote via email that the settlement was significantly less than the $10 million Waste Connections sought.”
To offset $1 million paid towards the settlement and an anticipated 29.7% increase in solid waste expenditures, city councilors approved a $1.5 million loan from the city’s Water Department Fund to stabilize the revenue needed for the settlement payment and smooth rates for city customers, according to city documents.
City staff’s initial estimates indicated the loan prevented an additional 9% increase to rates.
“The City has demonstrated through our rates, as compared to rates from the county contracted service, that we have been able to operate the Solid Waste utility at a lower cost,” city of PA staff wrote.
Sequim rates
The City of Sequim and unincorporated Clallam County customers contract through Waste Connections-Olympic Disposal as a private contractor for pickup.
Sequim Connections customers will see a 17.1%-23% increase depending on their service, which includes a 5.7% Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase, according to City of Sequim staff.
The smallest percent increase will be for commercial pickup of 1-4 yard containers at 17% more, while 20-96 gallon cart pickup (weekly and every other week) range from 18.9%-23% more a month. In dollars, this means $5.12-$9.92 more a month for residences, and $20.51-$66.84 for commercial pickup.
Yard waste bins in the City of Sequim will go from $11.57 per month to $32.04, according to Joey Deese, site manager for Olympic Disposal, wrote via email
“This adjustment is driven by a 521.4% increase for yard debris recycling at the Port Angeles transfer station,” he wrote. “We will continue to evaluate options for yard debris recycling that could lessen the financial impact for our customers.”
Deese wrote that their agreement with the City of Sequim permits an annual rate adjustment every January 1 using a CPI factor and a disposal rate adjustment that is triggered if the Port Angeles Regional Transfer Station changes its fees.
He said generally, the overall adjustments are minimal.
“The 2024 adjustment is driven by a 34.8% increase in disposal costs at the Port Angeles Transfer Station, which is then reflected in the solid waste collection rates,” Deese wrote.
Bills from Waste Connections to City of Sequim customers echo this, reading: “Effective January 1, 2024 rates for services will change in accordance with our contract equivalent to the change in CPI (Consumer Price Index). In addition, The Port Angeles Transfer Station has implemented a 34.8% tip fee increase.”
At the Nov. 11 Sequim city council meeting, city manager Matt Huish said they were surprised by the increase and that they and Clallam County weren’t considered during the rate decision process, calling it “an awkward situation for us.”
Meggan Uecker, a resource analyst for Sequim’s Public Works Department, said Sequim has an interlocal agreement with Port Angeles and Clallam County to have representatives on the Joint Solid Waste Advisory Board (JSWAB) to advise on solid waste transport rates.
She said the advisory board requested the Cost of Service Analysis for months but weren’t going to be advised until after the Oct. 17 public hearing on the new rates.
Referencing a letter sent to the City of Port Angeles, Uecker said, “we feel we didn’t have adequate time.”
Mayor Tom Ferrell said he wasn’t going to argue the rates because “this is why things get tough in a non competitive world” with no leverage to change the increases.
“It’s terrible the consumer is gonna face that kind of increase,” he said.
Response
Port Angeles staff replied via email that they’ve explained to Sequim and county officials they “did not get the rate study completed as soon as we would have liked, however, the (JSWAB) was provided these rates one week prior to council decision making” and they did not receive feedback until the day of the Oct. 17 meeting.
They added that the City of PA is required to provide 75 days notice to the Washington Utilities and Trades Commission for solid waste rate increases effective date of Jan. 1, 2024 and meet “calculated revenues necessary to cover costs and to satisfy regulatory and debt requirements.”
PA staff said they understand the other entities’ concern, and “expressed to them our desire to present information to them as timely as possible.”
“Unfortunately, this was the first Cost of Service Analysis that we have conducted since taking over the operation; it was extremely complex and took longer than any of us expected,” they wrote.
“We have conveyed to them that this was an anomaly and that it is our desire and commitment to start the process earlier in 2025 in order to give them more time to review and provide recommendations.”
They added, “Our relationship with the City of Sequim and other partners is vital. We strive for transparency and open dialogue and will continuously look at ways to improve our collaboration.”
City of PA staff said the Joint Solid Waste Advisory Board was advised of the rates in a formal presentation and they provided detailed spreadsheets.
The next cost of service analysis process for the Solid Waste fund will begin in mid-2025 to include any updates that have occurred to the budget for the coming year, according to City of PA staff,
A tentative public review will be available in late September 2025 and take effect Jan. 1, 2026.
Staff said it’s too early to tell if there will be rate changes as “the current market is experiencing significant shifts that will likely continue to change over the next two years.”
For more about the City of Port Angeles’ Solid Waste utility, visit cityofpa.us/245/Solid-Waste-Utility.
For more about the City of Sequim’s garbage pickup, visit wasteconnections.com/sequim.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash The Regional Transfer Station and Blue Mountain Transfer Station, pictured, in Port Angeles will see a 25.8% increase for self-haulers and 34.8% for commercial haulers in 2024 for solid waste.
