SEMCO lowers tipping fee July 1

Southeast Iowa Multi-County Solid Waste Agency will decrease its tipping fee by $5 per ton effective with the new fiscal year.

The current $55 per ton fee will be lowered to $50 July 1. SEMCO?s tipping fee increased from $45 to $55 per ton in July 2009.

?We?ve finished our capital projects, building a permanent office and scale building and constructed a nearly 5-acre cell just last year,? said Bill Sloop, SEMCO manager. ?Those projects are paid for, and we have no outstanding debt.

?We looked at long-term planning and determined we don?t need to be collecting excessive fees. Each year we review plans, and we don?t anticipate another capital project for a while. The latest cell built is the largest ever built here.?

The landfill serves the tri-counties of Jefferson, Washington and Keokuk. It is not subsidized by any tax money. It operates solely on revenue collected through its operations.

Tipping fees for loads of lumber, such as wooden pallets or scrap lumber, even with nails and screws, are $30 per ton, Sloop said. That fee will remain the same.

?I haven?t heard of anyone lowering tipping fees around the state,? he said. ?I can?t promise this is forever, but we are in good shape for now.?

The new office and scale structure replaces a mobile construction trailer that saw 25 years of life there. It is expected to realize utility savings.

?We don?t have any good numbers on it yet,? said Sloop. ?We?ve just gotten into the winter weather, but I know we?ll see savings on our heating costs.?

Jefferson County Supervisor Dick Reed represents the county on SEMCO?s board. He reported the heating bills for the trailer averaged $860 a month.

The SEMCO landfill has been serving the region since 1974, and Sloop projects it has another 25 years of use left.