Residents and businesses in the city of Cumming will see an increase in solid waste removal fees

At a meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 3, members of the Cumming City Council voted unanimously to approve an increase for businesses and residents using provider Red Oak Sanitation in the city. City Administrator Phil Higgins said the city had been informed Red Oak was increasing its own fees in April.

“This increase is due to the higher fuel costs, labor costs and also includes higher dumping fees that they are being assessed,” Higgins said.

Higgins said the new prices will go into effect in April and city sanitation customers will receive a letter in late February or early March notifying them of the change, 

He said the current charges for garbage service is $18 for residential customers and $23 for businesses and the prices will increase $1.50 each to $19.50 and $24.50, respectively. The $4 fee for recycling will not change. 

City customers have two options for trash pickup, a paid service from Red Oak with and a twice-weekly collection of certain items left on city roads by the street department, which typically had no charge. 

Along with new fees for Red Oak, Higgins said part of the increase will go to increased fees for Greenleaf Recycling, which will increase from $38 to $48 per ton of materials brought to the facility during pickups with a $12 fuel charge for trucks.

“Our street department will also be affected by the increase in the dumping fees,” Higgins said. “Currently we transport all of our solid waste that we pick up through weekly special pickups within the city of Cumming, both in the right of way and in front of residents’ homes, we transport that to Greenleaf’s recycling center on Keith Bridge Road.”

Higgins said the city sends about 15 trucks to the center each week from the city’s twice-weekly curbside pickup service for large items, which he said was “a service that the citizens really do like, and unfortunately the only way to pay for it is to go up at this time.”

When asked if any cities around provide a similar service, Higgins said “I don’t know of any around here that do it for free.”

“We do it for free,” he said. “There are occasions that we have charged citizens when it’s been an entire truckload of debris we have to haul off, we do charge them for the rate of the truck and the guys that are out there picking it up, but we come to an agreement before we get it.”

Higgins said he had compared Red Oaks’ rate to other garbage services but alternatives were more expensive and required a set-up fee.

“I think it’s important to note that while we’re having to go up, it’s still $1.50 cheaper than the cheapest [alternative],” said Cumming Mayor Troy Brumbalow, “and that doesn’t include the twice-a-week service that the city comes by and picks up pretty much anything out of the street.”