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Solid Waste disposal fee to increase

Photo Caption: Garbage from the County’s homes and businesses at the Waste-to-Energy Facility.

What are the new fees?

Pinellas County Solid Waste’s disposal fee for municipal solid waste, commercial waste and yard waste will increase by 6.8% on Oct. 1, 2024 — from $51 to $54.50 per ton. This increase is the third of a three-year rate increase plan approved by the Board of County Commissioners in 2022.

In addition to the approved disposal fee increase, one other fee change will be considered at a board meeting on Sept. 19:

  • The surcharge fee for out-of-county municipal solid waste, commercial waste and yard waste is proposed to increase from $51 to $54.50 per ton, which is in addition to the regular per-ton disposal fee of $54.50.

The fees for cars, pickup trucks and vans, tires, special handling service, contractor surcharge, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits and Christmas trees remain the same.

Why the increase?

For more than 35 years, Solid Waste has been selling the electricity generated by the Waste-to-Energy Facility to Duke Energy, which uses it to power homes in Pinellas County. That agreement ends on December 31, 2024, and due to current energy markets, Pinellas County Solid Waste would receive less revenue from a new agreement. The department still needs to fund operations and maintenance expenses to keep the Waste-to-Energy Facility, landfill and other programs functioning, so the board agreed on this modest increase in rates in 2022.

What is the Waste-to-Energy Facility?

WTE_Facility
An aerial image of the Waste-to-Energy Facility at the Pinellas County Solid Waste Disposal Complex.

The Waste-to-Energy Facility processes an average of 2,800 tons of garbage per day while generating 75 megawatt-hours of renewable energy. In 2023, the facility processed nearly 1.7 pounds of garbage, reducing its volume by 90% and saving space in the county’s one and only landfill. It also generated enough electricity to power 45,000 single-family homes per day while recovering and recycling enough metal to create about 12,000 cars.

For more information about the department, visit the Solid Waste department webpage at Pinellas.gov/solidwaste.

Questions?

Reach out to us by emailing recycle@pinellas.gov or calling (727) 464-7500.