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Ishpeming raises residential garbage fee to cover county tipping increase; council discusses recycling and compost options
Summary
The council approved a monthly increase in the residential garbage fee from $21.90 to $24.75 to offset higher Marquette County landfill charges and discussed procuring new carts and promoting curbside composting to reduce tonnage.
The Ishpeming City Council voted to raise the city’s monthly residential garbage fee from $21.90 to $24.75 after staff explained the county landfill tipping fee rose from $71 to $87 per ton.
Finance staff presented a rate analysis based on the past 12 months of tonnage and recommended the $2.85-per-month increase to cover about $76,000 in additional annual disposal costs and to create an $8,000 contingency buffer for tonnage variability. Council members discussed whether a larger one-time increase should be used to purchase new garbage carts (staff estimated cart procurement at roughly $180,000–$190,000) or to time purchases through the capital-improvement plan.
Council members and staff also discussed strategies to reduce landfill tonnage: increasing recycling participation, securing recycling bins (staff reported recycling containers may be available at no cost to residents or free drop-off with variable market reimbursement) and encouraging residential curbside compost pickup through Partridge Creek Compost. Staff noted the city currently acts as a pass-through for a compost vendor and said expanded compost collection could reduce food-waste tonnage, the largest single component of residential refuse in many communities.
Council directed staff to implement the rate change, update bills and customer notices, and include potential cart procurement in the budget/CIP process. Staff will also follow up on recycling and composting logistics and report back.
