New Refuse Rates

This past winter the Village of Versailles performed an in-depth review of the Village’s Refuse Utility operations, expenses, income, and future needs of this essential utility service. In addition, a full audit was performed of all tote (refuse and recycling) and dumpster (refuse, recycling, and cardboard) customer locations. The Village takes pride in providing refuse services to our residents and businesses at an affordable price, with top notch customer service, and with specialized services that are not always available from private, for-profit refuse collection companies. The Village Refuse Utility has long served the refuse, recycling, and cardboard collection needs for the community and operates it as an enterprise fund. An enterprise fund means that the utility service shall be self-sustaining with income from provided services covering expenses for normal operation expenses (i.e. personnel costs, fuel, totes, etc.) as well as capital purchase needs (i.e. dumpsters, trucks, facility improvements, etc.).

During this in-depth review, it was found that several changes to service fees for provided collection services would be needed in order to support the Refuse Utility Fund going forward to ensure its sustainability to operate and to continue to provide these essential services. It should be noted that the last rate increases for refuse services were initiated on December 10, 2019. With the passage of Village Ordinance No. 26-09 and 26-10 on April 8, 2026 fees will be increased on residential curbside refuse service, commercial refuse collection service, and commercial dumpster refuse service. In addition, fees will now also be charged for residential curbside recycling service, commercial recycling service (dumpsters and totes), and commercial cardboard collection services. As many of you have experienced over the past several years, input costs for fuel, personnel, disposal fees, and materials have all gone up dramatically. The Village’s operations have also experienced these cost increases and it has now come to a point where rates must be changed to reflect those increases.

For residential curbside refuse customers, the new monthly rates for tote collection service shall be as follows: 35 gallon= $19.00/mo; 65 gallon= $20.00/mo; 95 gallon= $21.00/mo. This equates to a $2.50 increase from prior rates over all residential refuse tote sizes. Monthly residential curbside recycling collection service rates will be $2/mo for a 35-gallon tote, and $4/mo for a 65-gallon tote. Commercial refuse dumpster customers will also see increased rates going forward with these changes. The Village has a long and successful history with the recycling efforts of the community with a residential curbside recycling participation rate of 89.5%. The Village has provided recycling service without a separate charge and without mandatory participation for many, many years.

The cost of the recycling operation (labor, fuel, disposal, and capital expenses) has always been paid for out of the Refuse Utility Fund with a portion of customer refuse rates paying for recycling service costs. In an effort to be as transparent as possible to Refuse Utility customers, the Village has now instituted charges for recycling services that will show up on the customer’s monthly utility bill. Please note that the Village is, and always has been, charged by Rumpke for every ton of recycled material that is collected and disposed of. Refuse Utility customers can help keep costs down for the overall operation of the service, which helps keep overall rates lower, by recycling as much as possible versus putting recyclable items in the trash. The cost for a ton of recycling to be disposed of with Rumpke for 2026 is $36.75/ton, whereas refuse material is $67.30/ton. The Village has required by ordinance mandatory refuse service to all properties in the Village corporation limits for many years. With the adoption of updated Refuse Utility Service Policies with Village Ordinance No. 26-10, residential curbside recycling will now also become a mandatory service for all curbside service customers. There is approximately only 10% of residential curbside refuse customers in the Village who do not have a recycling tote. Totes will be provided to those who do not currently have a tote with a default minimum tote size of 35-gallons unless they contact the Utility Office at (937) 526-3294 or via email utilities@versaillesoh.com and request a 65-gallon tote. Commercial customers with recycling dumpsters and/or recycle tote will also now be charged for collection whereas in the past, this too was a free service.

Another new charge that has been implemented is for commercial cardboard collection. Several area businesses have cardboard collection dumpsters that are serviced by the Village’s Refuse Utility. When this service began many years ago, the sale price of the cardboard waste material by the Village covered the expense of the truck, dumpster, personnel, fuel, etc. This service was viewed as a win for all parties as it kept the cardboard material out of the refuse stream, provided a useful material for reuse, and helped keep overall disposal fees down for all refuse customers. However, over the past five plus years the market price of cardboard has been as low as $0/ton and is currently at $5/ton. The low cardboard material prices have been like this for many years leading up to this point. The market is flooded with recycled cardboard material, thus the market price for the sale of this material will likely continue to remain at extremely low prices going forward. The Village’s self-service cardboard compactor located at 355 Grand Ave. will remain in service for refuse customers of the Village only. Please note that cameras are present at the cardboard compactor facility and those disposing of improper material at this location, or from those who are not Village refuse customers, may be subject to prosecution for illegal dumping.

The new refuse rates will take effect with the monthly utility bills due June 10, 2026. To view all refuse service rates, please visit the Village website at www.versaillesoh.com and click on the Utilities tab at the top and select Information/Rates. Village Administration, Mayor, and Village Council do not take such rate increases lightly, and had much discussion about changing refuse service rates. Refuse service rates and policies from other municipalities who provide in-house services as well as private refuse company services were reviewed and considered during the overall rate review process. The new refuse rates will help ensure the Village’s continued Refuse Utility operation continues with dedicated, top-notch customer service for all those who are served. If there are any questions regarding the new refuse rate structures and policies, please contact the Utility Office at (937) 526-3294 or email utilities@versaillesoh.com.

< Older Post Newer Post >