Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solid Waste topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sherwood staff outline proposed waste-rate increase tied to rising Metro disposal and truck costs
Summary
City staff and a presenter reviewed the annual solid-waste report, saying 2024 returns were under 5% and proposing a 10% producer rate for 2026 driven by higher Metro tipping fees, truck depreciation and labor; council asked staff to collect usage data and return with more analysis before acting.
Sherwood City Council members heard an annual solid-waste report and preliminary rate analysis at a work session, with staff saying disposal and fleet costs are driving a proposed 10% producer rate for 2026. The presentation covered 2024 results, tipping-fee increases from Metro, new recycling rules and cost differences between electric and compressed natural-gas trucks.
The city’s presenter, Chris Bell, said the adjusted return for 2024 came in “just under 5%,” and noted that after taking last year’s collection-rate increases into account the composite return for 2025 is projected at about 9.10%. “So despite all of that stuff, we’re coming in at, you know, 9%,” Bell said. He said the ordinance used by the city would allow setting a 10% producer rate for the upcoming year.
Why it matters: Metro’s disposal (tipping) fee and other regional changes are the largest single drivers of the city’s garbage costs and will affect both residential and commercial customers. Council members responded by asking staff to gather more customer-use data and to return with options before any final change that would take effect Jan. 1, 2026.
What staff presented: Bell walked through cost drivers. Key figures presented included: - 2024 adjusted returns: just under 5%. - Residential rate increases that took effect Jan. 1 (previous year): about 10.3%; commercial: about 11%. - Metro tipping fee: $162.14 per ton for the fiscal year beginning July 1 (up from about $95/ton in 2017, a roughly 71% increase since 2017). Metro transport and transfer contracts comprise roughly $86 of that per-ton cost; another $14 per ton represents Metro transportation and scale/administration charges. - Other cost drivers: driver wage increases (about 3%), truck depreciation (used 7-year schedule; staff said typical useful life is at least 10 years), two new electric trucks and one front-load truck added recently, and the 2024 sunsetting of a federal compressed-natural-gas (CNG) fuel tax credit that raised fuel-related costs for the hauler.
Service and vehicle options discussed: Staff outlined how different service or equipment choices change monthly customer costs. For the most common 35-gallon cart, the proposed package of labor, truck, and disposal costs equates to a $1.51 per customer per month increase under the scenario presented. Other numbers discussed: - Electric vs. CNG trucks: electric option adds about $0.42 per customer per month compared with a CNG truck under the presenter’s rate model. - Reducing collection frequency from weekly to every-other-week would lower rates by about $0.36 per customer per month. - Removing food waste from the yard/organic stream (treating it as yard debris again) would reduce the per-customer cost by about $1.44 per month.
Recycling changes: The Recycling Modernization Act (RMA), which took effect July 1 in Oregon, will alter who pays processors for commingled recyclables and includes a $77-per-ton glass rebate to haulers. Bell said RMA could reduce some residential recycling processing costs and estimated a roughly $0.58 per customer per month reduction tied to the new producer responsibility payments, but he cautioned the program is new and the state’s model may not hold exactly as currently estimated.
Medical and special-waste disposal: Bell noted temporary higher costs for medical waste disposal because a local autoclave is not yet online; some haulers currently transport medical waste out of state for incineration, increasing transport costs until local capacity (Clackamas) is available.
Council response and next steps: Councilors asked multiple operational questions (truck depreciation schedules, battery warranties, payloads, and how usage varies seasonally). Staff recommended polling or a more scientific data collection effort before finalizing a 2026 rate adjustment. Council directed staff to return with more customer-use data and to schedule a follow-up discussion including absent council members.
No formal action was taken during the work session; staff said proposed changes would not become effective until Jan. 1, 2026, leaving time for additional analysis and outreach.
