Re: [greenyes] cost for hauling commercial recyclables

[David Biddle <Dbiddle@no.address>]

In the Philly region, commercial recycling is usually priced on a flat
monthly fee depending upon the container size. Sometimes we see a pickup
charge only (usually once a week--$30-$40). A typical configuration for a
school or intermediate-sized office facility has a compactor for trash and a
4-6 yard Dumpster for recycling. A service charge of about $100/month is, I
would say, common for the recycling Dumpster.

If the facility uses a compactor for recyclables (we have a single-stream
processor in the region that services almost all of the haulers) we can get
data. We see anywhere from $35-$125 per ton for recycling. There are usually
rebates of $5-$10 per ton to offset costs. This kind of setup is usually for
large office high-rises and big institutions.

Most recycling here, though, captures only cardboard. Small generators get
charged a monthly fee for Dumpster service. Large often get paid. Pricing
for cardboard is all over the place though. I¹ve seen restaurants and
grocery stores pay for recycling and then others, particularly chains, who
get paid. The best contracts have a flat fee for collection and then a
monthly rebate for the value of the material.

Please note, however, that pricing systems in the industry are really a
function of route distribution and density. If a hauler services a whole
bunch of downtown businesses for recycling (or trash for that matter),
you¹ll see relatively low, competitive pricing. If they only have a few
accounts, however, pricing will necessarily be higher. We see, for example,
our major haulers (you know who they are) with good pricing for trash but
because only a few of their customers want recycling very high pricing for
that service.This is a conundrum that has not  been adequately addressed by
many municipalities and authorities around the country. The only way to
overcome it, is to enforce commercial recycling so that economies of scale
and route efficiencies move off the margin. Hopefully this makes sense.

As an aside, I am finishing up a report on commercial recycling in our
region. Without question, the industry needs to move toward using on-board
scales and setting pricing based on tonnage for recycling. Our report will
be out sometime in the fall (I promised it last winter, but had to wait on
data for 2003).

Another cost factor that needs to be considered is putting actual programs
in place and maintaining them (receptacles, management, education, feedback,
troubleshooting, etc.). I budget $5-$10 per employee depending on the
facility to get the program up and running, and then about $5 per
employee/year (minimum) to run it.

Hope this helps. 

db

 David Biddle, Executive Director


          P.O. Box 4037
    Philadelphia, PA 19118
          215-247-3090
          215-432-8225 (mobile)
       Dbiddle@no.address

     <WWW.GPCRC.COM>

Read In Business magazine to learn about sustainable
businesses in communities across North America!
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on 9/21/05 6:48 PM, Karin Grobe at KGrobe@no.address wrote:

> I'm curious about the cost for businesses to recycle in other jurisdictions.
> Recycling is usually free to residents but I guess that is not always the case
> for businesses.  
> 
> Two of the cities in the county do their own hauling and provide businesses
> with
> unlimited free recycling of mixed paper and containers.  Other county
> jurisdictions (all of which contract with Waste Management for business
> hauling)
> allow two 64-gallon carts of free recycling pickup and businesses need to pay
> if
> they want more.  
> 
> I'd be interested in hearing about other cities and counties, especially in
> California.  
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 



 David Biddle, Executive Director


          P.O. Box 4037
    Philadelphia, PA 19118
          215-247-3090
          215-432-8225 (mobile)
       Dbiddle@no.address

     <WWW.GPCRC.COM>

Read In Business magazine to learn about sustainable
businesses in communities across North America!
Go to: <http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jgpress/>