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  4. Landfill Pricing Rose 2.5 Percent to $53.5 per Ton Last Year on Higher Volume

Landfill Pricing Rose 2.5 Percent to $53.5 per Ton Last Year on Higher Volume

Date: February 6, 2020

Source: Waste Business Journal

The average cost to landfill a ton of municipal solid waste (MSW) rose to $53.5 last year. That's a 2.5 percent increase from the year before. But that only tells part of the story. The average price charged by the private sector rose by nearly 6 percent to $60 per ton. That compares with $47.2 which is the average price per ton charged by municipally owned and operated landfills.

Average Price and Volume of MSW Landfilled in the US by Year
($ per ton and millions of tons)


Source: Waste Business Journal (www.wasteinfo.com).

 

Average Price to Landfill MSW by Type of Owner and Year
($ per ton)


Source: Waste Business Journal (www.wasteinfo.com).

On the other hand, landfill volumes have increased rather modestly over the last several years. Last year, 308 million tons of MSW were landfilled, up 2.5 percent from the year before. Over the last ten years landfill volumes have increased 1.7 percent on average.

Price increases reflect both the growing economy and modestly increased demand for disposal but also increased costs of disposal. Tumult in the recycling markets has forced companies to raise prices at the gate and on collection contracts to cover the increased costs to handle recycled materials as commodity prices have fallen.

Prices have risen even more dramatically in the Northeast as available landfill capacity there continues to shrink and as more waste must be exported to the Midwest and southeast. For that reason, the Northeast continues to be the most expensive region in the country for landfilling waste. The average price there rose by 3.8 percent last year to $78 per ton. That compares with only $36.3 per ton on average in the western states that have plentiful landfill capacity. In the Midwest, prices rose by 3 percent last year to $57.5 per ton as more waste coming in from the Northeast exerts pressure on local capacity and pricing.

Average Price to Landfill MSW by Region and Year
($ per ton)


Source: Waste Business Journal (www.wasteinfo.com).

For more detail on pricing and volume trends and the latest data, subscribe to Waste Business Journal's Waste Pricing and Disposal Report, published monthly. $495 for a yearly subscription.

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