BRODHEAD - The Green County Solid Waste Management Board doesn't want its transfer station's sizzle to be mistaken for a fizzle.
Randy Thompson, the transfer station manager, said small companies in the waste hauling business "would love to bid" on contracts, but they will not, until they are sure the local transfer station will be here for three years.
Board members say they need to know whether they can get the needed tonnage to stay afloat.
To entice private waste management companies to unload their trucks at the county's transfer station rather than haul the collected trash to more distant facilities, board members voted unanimously Monday to charge waste haulers $47 per ton for bringing non-members' trash to the county's transfer station located just a few miles west of Brodhead.
That's just $2 more than the facility charges for trash from its membership communities.
But it is also up to $6 a ton less than some companies were being charged.
Companies had been charged varying amounts in tipping fees - $2, $4 and as much as $8 more than members paid. Board members said the extra charges were to help cover operating and maintenance costs, but they were not sure of the reason for the differences in the negotiated prices.
Community members of the facility pay $45 for tipping fees, but then also share the operation costs that exceed the facility's revenues.
Board members believe more loads brought to the facility will increase the revenue stream and help lower the member-supported operating costs.
A flat-rate price for all private companies seemed more fair, board members decided. The across-the-board charge would put the haulers on the same footing and allow them to compete with each other.
"We have to come up with a number that will be satisfactory to them - and I don't want to have to raise it later," Committee chairman Nate Klassy said.
Board members also felt their new charge would be competitive with other transfer stations or landfills in the region.
They calculated that trash haulers would spend more than $1 in gas and other expenses traveling to Madison, where they can unload at about $48 per ton. Furthermore, they calculated that the Monroe transfer station can haul the compacted loads to the Janesville landfill cheaper than private companies could.
Non-member trash accounted for about 12 percent of the facility's total trash weight in 2011.
But in December one waste management company, Veolia Environmental Services, which hauled a major portion of trash from member communities, opted to haul it to its own private landfill near Darien. The loss amounted to about 70 percent of the local transfer station business, according to the board.
That weight has come back slightly - very slightly - as some municipalities forced Veolia to carry its collected trash to the transfer station, as per its contract with the board.
But, at the present volume being brought to the transfer station, Thompson told the board they would have to charge $97 a ton to survive.
While trash must come to sustain the facility, it is the extra services the facility offers that board members feel must sizzle for the good of all county residents.
The facility accepts many items not usually accepted by waste management companies, such as tires, Freon appliances, electronics, compost materials, waste oils and antifreeze.
Board members fear, without the facility, those items will end up in countryside road ditches, but the current charges do not meet the cost of handling those items.
Once charged the same prices as member users, non-members will now see higher charges for the extra services, based on the real costs of labor, equipment and materials needed to dispose of the materials, but probably still lower than many other drop-off places.
A list of the recommended prices will be prepared for the board to consider at its next meeting March 15.
Randy Thompson, the transfer station manager, said small companies in the waste hauling business "would love to bid" on contracts, but they will not, until they are sure the local transfer station will be here for three years.
Board members say they need to know whether they can get the needed tonnage to stay afloat.
To entice private waste management companies to unload their trucks at the county's transfer station rather than haul the collected trash to more distant facilities, board members voted unanimously Monday to charge waste haulers $47 per ton for bringing non-members' trash to the county's transfer station located just a few miles west of Brodhead.
That's just $2 more than the facility charges for trash from its membership communities.
But it is also up to $6 a ton less than some companies were being charged.
Companies had been charged varying amounts in tipping fees - $2, $4 and as much as $8 more than members paid. Board members said the extra charges were to help cover operating and maintenance costs, but they were not sure of the reason for the differences in the negotiated prices.
Community members of the facility pay $45 for tipping fees, but then also share the operation costs that exceed the facility's revenues.
Board members believe more loads brought to the facility will increase the revenue stream and help lower the member-supported operating costs.
A flat-rate price for all private companies seemed more fair, board members decided. The across-the-board charge would put the haulers on the same footing and allow them to compete with each other.
"We have to come up with a number that will be satisfactory to them - and I don't want to have to raise it later," Committee chairman Nate Klassy said.
Board members also felt their new charge would be competitive with other transfer stations or landfills in the region.
They calculated that trash haulers would spend more than $1 in gas and other expenses traveling to Madison, where they can unload at about $48 per ton. Furthermore, they calculated that the Monroe transfer station can haul the compacted loads to the Janesville landfill cheaper than private companies could.
Non-member trash accounted for about 12 percent of the facility's total trash weight in 2011.
But in December one waste management company, Veolia Environmental Services, which hauled a major portion of trash from member communities, opted to haul it to its own private landfill near Darien. The loss amounted to about 70 percent of the local transfer station business, according to the board.
That weight has come back slightly - very slightly - as some municipalities forced Veolia to carry its collected trash to the transfer station, as per its contract with the board.
But, at the present volume being brought to the transfer station, Thompson told the board they would have to charge $97 a ton to survive.
While trash must come to sustain the facility, it is the extra services the facility offers that board members feel must sizzle for the good of all county residents.
The facility accepts many items not usually accepted by waste management companies, such as tires, Freon appliances, electronics, compost materials, waste oils and antifreeze.
Board members fear, without the facility, those items will end up in countryside road ditches, but the current charges do not meet the cost of handling those items.
Once charged the same prices as member users, non-members will now see higher charges for the extra services, based on the real costs of labor, equipment and materials needed to dispose of the materials, but probably still lower than many other drop-off places.
A list of the recommended prices will be prepared for the board to consider at its next meeting March 15.