Chittenden Solid Waste District proposes $40/ton management fee to close recycling facility funding gap; Winooski appoints representatives

The Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) presented its fiscal 2026 budget to the Winooski City Council on May 19 and proposed raising the district’s long-standing solid waste management fee from $30 per ton to $40 per ton to help close a projected funding gap for a new material recycling facility.

Sarah Reeves, executive director for the district, told the council the district is budgeting roughly $16.25 million in revenue for fiscal 2026 and that, "we are basically at a breakeven for fiscal 26." She said the proposed fee increase would raise district revenue to about $17.05 million and generate an estimated $1.5 million to $1.7 million excess to be directed to the new material recycling facility capital reserve fund.

The fee, charged to haulers at disposal and already incorporated into customer bills, has been in place since 1993. Reeves said CSWD’s revenue comes primarily from three sources—tipping (user)…