Landfill Fees Correction + New Coaliton
June 26, 2024
2 Topics for Today
A correction from last week
The next iteration of the circular fashion coalition focused on small businesses
A correction from last week
So after I sent last week’s newsletter, I got a couple of messages from friends letting me know the landfill tipping fees data is more complex than it looks on the surface. They were both kind to share additional resources with me, which I am passing along to you. They requested anonymity, and they are both highly credible and working in the waste and landfill industry.
The average ‘all-in’ cost of dumping one ton of waste at a landfill is about $50, and they range from $28 in Montana to $186 in Alaska. If you’re curious, here’s a map of US tipping fees. The key piece that I missed last week was the fact that there are usually multiple fees: one fee to the actual landfill owner and/or operator, and frequently additional fees and taxes for local, county and state governments.
For example, in Ohio there’s a $4.75 per ton tax to the state of Ohio, local fees of $2-3 per ton as ‘host fees’, and another $30/ton or so to the landfill for an all-in cost around $35-40/ton.
The average American generates 4.4 pounds of trash per day, which is roughly 1,600 pounds of trash in a year, or a bit less than one ton. Imagine if I kept all of my trash for a whole year in a giant shipping container and at the end of the year I had it towed to the landfill and they said “that will be $50 ma’am”. That just seems like too little money for all that garbage. Maybe this points to a larger conversation about what could be, should be or is happening with our garbage. Maybe I’ll do some research on garbage incineration for a future post.
Lastly, these tipping fees are usually based on how expensive land is; if you can get a big piece of land for cheap, tipping fees will be cheaper, and if land is expensive, that will hike up the tipping fees.
So, hopefully I cleared up one misconception (including my own), while also opening some new cans of worms. Thanks to my friends for helping me.
Next Coalition Open for Sign Ups
Laura (my podcast co-host) and I have just announced our second circular fashion coalition. This one will be focused on practical circularity for small businesses and will happen this fall. We are taking a modular approach, letting members pick and choose what topics they are interested in. Please take a look and PLEASE share with your networks!
To learn more, here’s all the info you could possibly want!
Here’s the sign up link (also in the doc linked above).
We are also hosting info sessions, and the first one is tomorrow (Friday at 12pm EST). Feel free to reply directly to this newsletter if you want to attend.
The Untangling Circularity Podcast
The Circular Journey of What We Wear: Design for Circularity, featuring Driftless Goods, Jackalo and Sew Valley.
Ciao!
Cynthia
