Frederick County to align rubble tipping fee with construction-debris rate as disposal volumes rise

County staff told the Frederick County Board of Supervisors at a work session that the county plans to move its rubble-fill tipping fee to the construction-and-demolition (CDD) rate of $58 per ton starting July 1 to reflect rising disposal costs and shrinking on-site capacity.

The change matters because rubble fill—defined by staff as clean concrete, brick, rock and chipped asphalt—has climbed to about 11% of what the county receives at its disposal sites and the landfill enterprise relies entirely on tipping fees to fund operations and future construction. Without a new outlet for the material, staff said, rubble will consume space otherwise set aside for other CDD material.

Joe Wilder, director of public works, told the board the county operates two distinct landfills: a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill and a construction-and-demolition debris (CDD) landfill. He said interlocal agreements with Winchester and Clarke County let those local governments pay a reduced rate (about $24 by his account) compared with private commercial haulers (about $55 currently). Wilder said the county’s pro forma analysis and consultant work showed the need to adjust multiple tipping fees and to eliminate a lower “rubble” rate that had been treated separately.

Wilder said the rubble fee in the draft pro forma was mistakenly printed as $50 per ton in an earlier report but explained the intended change is to raise the rubble fee to the CDD rate. "So what we're talking about today is rubble fill," Wilder said, and later added, "We think it's gonna... go down," when asked whether higher fees would reduce incoming volumes.

Board members and staff discussed options for handling rubble outside the county landfill, including private recycling operations that grind rubble into products, placement on private property when allowed, and use by quarries or other private entities. Wilder said the county is not planning to invest in processing equipment at the county landfill and that private firms could operate recycling facilities on private land if they choose.

Several supervisors said they worried about contractors who already have active jobs and long-term contracts; those supervisors asked staff to notify large haulers and known users—such as the City of Winchester and a handful of major local contractors—well before the new rate takes effect. Wilder said the county will give roughly 60 days’ notice after the budget is adopted (typically in April) and suggested posting proposed tipping fees on the county website as an early warning.

Board members asked staff to pursue follow-up with recyclers and to have the public works committee review the issue; supervisors also asked staff to contact the largest haulers directly so businesses can plan whether to invest in dedicated recycling equipment, find alternative disposal, or accept the higher fee. No formal vote was taken; staff described these as next steps and the board reached a consensus to notify affected businesses and route the matter to the public works committee for further study.

What’s next: staff will notify major haulers after budget adoption (staff projected notifications around April), the public works committee will consider follow-up research and outreach, and county staff will post proposed tipping fees so interested parties can comment before rates are adopted.