Landfill fees increase 3 percent

By Anthony V. Coppola, Staff Writer
   The Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders passed a resolution at its Dec. 12 meeting that will increase tipping fees at the county landfill by 3 percent effective Jan. 1.
   The 2007 base per ton fee was $57.92, $64.41 after taxes, but will jump to $59.66, or $66.20 after taxes, in 2008 according to Loretta O’ Donnell, assistant public information officer for the county.
   ”The increase is needed because the landfill received less waste this year than in 2006,” Ms. O’ Donnell said. “There was also an increase in operating costs.”
   The freeholders own and operate the 552-acre solid waste disposal and recycling facilities at the Florence and Mansfield border. Ms. O’ Donnell said the complex has a projected annual operating cost of $22 million for the landfill and recycling facilities.
   To protect taxpayers, the proposed charges cannot exceed $65 per ton under a 2005 order of the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Individual municipalities fund curbside trash pickups, meaning property owners can expect an increase in municipal taxes.
   County Resource Conservation Director Mary Pat Robbie said the county has kept a steady annual 3 percent fee increase since 1997 to help keep pace with inflation and to give municipalities time to plan.
   ”A lot of what we do is driven by fuel costs and those have been driven up substantially,” Ms. Robbie said. “Labor costs at the facility also come into play.”
   Ms. Robbie said waste coming into the facility fluctuates, but this year the complex faced a decrease in volume causing a decline in revenue. She pointed to the Camden County incinerator as a place commercial trucks typically haul their trash, especially those located along the Camden County border.
   ”Waste is leaving the county and going to less costly facilities,” Ms. Robbie said. “Most of the time trash finds a home at the closest and cheapest facility.”