County officials recently explained why an $8 rate increase for trash collection was necessary to keep the Solid Waste Department operating efficiently.

Starting Oct. 1, residents of Lafayette County living outside the city limits will see an $8 increase in their monthly trash collection bill. The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors recently approved the fee hike during a budget hearing, raising the cost from $12 to $20 a month.

The last time the county raised the trash collection rate was in 2014 when it jumped from $10 to $12. Before that, the fee had only increased by a dollar since 2000.

The cost to the county per residential trash can pick up is $19.80 a month.

Several factors influenced the Board’s decision, including rising costs for fuel, equipment, and labor, according to information provided to the EAGLE by County Administrator Kate Victor. These increases were felt particularly hard during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet no fee adjustments were made at that time.

In 2017, the county switched from rear-loading garbage trucks to automated trucks, a move that improved safety but also came with higher costs. The county provided trash cans to customers free of charge and has continued to replace cans at no cost to residents, though the cans cost the county $55 each.

Automated trucks are more expensive than rear-loading trucks. The repetitive nature of the automated arm creates wear and tear on the arm and repair costs have gone up.