St. Joseph to raise landfill disposal fees to address capacity concerns

Nov. 12—New developments on the rapidly-decreasing capacity at St. Joseph's Sanitary Landfill are forcing city leaders to pursue a large rate increase or risk having the landfill potentially fill up by July 2025.

City leaders and landfill consultants gathered for a work session Tuesday to review recent findings and recommendations on the current state of the landfill and its long-term life expectancy.

At its current rate, officials project landfill cell No. 7 — the city's lone open cell — will be at full capacity by next July. City leaders agreed on a proposal to raise the per-ton rate from $32 to $125 and increase the minimum fee for average personal vehicles from $10 to $32 in order to reduce the annual rate of waste, extend the life of cell No. 7 and allow additional time for cell No. 8 to be built.

"The immediate issue that was addressed was if there is no decision to raise the rates, the landfill as we know it today would close in July of 2025," said Clint Thompson, interim city manager. "Tonight's decision was a large step moving forward and extending the life expectancy of the St. Joseph Landfill."

In the last five years, waste disposal at the landfill has skyrocketed by nearly 50% compared to the previous 20 years.

Landfill consultants highlighted an assessment of fees across the state and found that St. Joseph's per-ton rate — which has largely stayed the same since 2002 — is currently the lowest in Missouri and significantly lower than other regional landfills. This has led to a dramatic rise in the amount of waste coming from outside haulers and a sharp reduction in the landfill's capacity and long-term life expectancy.

"We were projecting a 50-year life and now all of a sudden you're talking about a 24-year-life," said Bret Clements, vice president with SCS Engineers and one of several consultants brought in to discuss findings and recommendations on Tuesday.

Officials and consultants hope proposed fee increases and significant reductions in annual waste could help boost the life expectancy of the entire landfill.

An ordinance for first reading is set to appear at the next council meeting on Nov. 25, followed by a formal vote likely on Dec. 9 to make the new rates effective at the start of 2025.

Regional landfill rate fees by comparison:

* St. Joseph Landfill: $34 per ton

* Johnson County Landfill: $190 per ton

* Show-Me Regional Landfill (Warrensburg): $142 per ton

* Hamm Sanitary Landfill (Lawrence, Kansas): $105 per ton

* Courtney Ridge Landfill (Independence): $150 per ton

* Central Missouri: $77.70 per ton

Many of the disposal fees offered by regional competitors have doubled since 2017, another factor in the growing number of haulers — many using semi-trucks — looking to come to St. Joseph.

"That was pretty eye opening. When you see that our competition is almost three times higher than the local rate," Thompson said. "That shows you there is other volume coming from outside the immediate area that's taking advantage of our reduced rate."

Proposed fee increases will have a larger impact on outside businesses and St. Joseph's 31 trash service companies compared with local residents directly. Early projections show the direct cost to customers passed down from trash haulers could be around $5 a month as a result of the increases.

The landfill has averaged around 220,000 tons of waste a year over the previous five years. Landfill officials hope the newly proposed rates will reduce annual tonnage to roughly 150,000 a year or lower. Waste disposal amounts have increased to the point where emergency storage areas constructed and authorized by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources are now full and need to be moved over to cell no. 8 upon completion.

Cell No. 8, scheduled for construction in spring of 2025, is projected to hit capacity by 2029, a reduced lifespan resulting from the amount of space that will be taken by emergency waste being temporarily stored for cell No. 7.

Including the planned construction of cell No. 8, long-term plans call for the construction of six additional cells over the course of the landfill's life.

As part of the city's landfill fee proposal, large vehicles with trailers or pickups disposing of solid refuse, building rubbish and demolition debris will see the minimum fee increase from $32 to $60.