Waste Management

In June, the City Council voted in favor of a new solid waste collection fee to begin on January 1, 2012.  Without the fee, we would not be able to continue to meet the funding needs of this highly valued service.  The fee is being administered equitably because only those who receive service will pay for it.  The fee will only be charged to single-family, duplex and townhouse residences receiving City services.

 

In a nutshell – we are beginning NOW to prepare for the future. The costs for collecting, handling and disposing of the City’s waste and debris are increasing, and we must be prepared to manage that increase in the best way possible without adding a huge burden to our residents.

 

We negotiated a stable, manageable disposal fee – the lowest in the region - with SPSA when we began working with them.  Beginning July 1, however, that fee was increased, which means our costs for disposing of solid waste increased.  The City Council believed that beginning to implement a small fee now would keep us from implementing a much larger fee once our contract with SPSA ends.  We are one of the last cities to have a trash fee, and our fee will still be the lowest in Hampton Roads. This fee will apply to approximately 123,000 homes in Virginia Beach that are served by Waste Management.

Beginning in January, the solid waste collection fee will be included in the combined services statement, which also includes charges for water, sanitary sewer collection, and storm water management.