After the city's recycling market went from $200k in revenue to almost $300k in annual cost, city officials in New Braunfels are considering a new solid waste pricing plan that would increase the rate.
Officials plan to replace the current $17.66 monthly residential trash and recycling charge with a flat $20 rate. They are also weighing yearly $2 increases that would continue through fiscal year 2031.
Here's what to know
City staff is expected to return Nov. 16 with the final presentation on the proposed rate structure. Materials presented at the Oct. 12 meeting listed the initial adjustment as a $2.34 monthly increase, which equals $28.08 a year.
According to Community Impact, the first increase would start April 1 and would add $28.08 a year to a typical residential bill.
Assistant City Manager Jared Werner said the city also wants to change how the service appears on bills by showing garbage and recycling under one combined charge.
"When we do get to a recommendation of an updated rate, we do plan on combining the rates," Werner said, per Community Impact. That means the proposal would put both services under a single solid waste rate, unlike the setup outlined in the current ordinance.
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More background
Several financial shifts have led to this situation and reshaped how the solid waste department operates.
In 2022, the city shifted multifamily tenants from the residential customer base to the commercial side, a move that Werner said cut revenue by $300,000.
Recycling has become a larger budget burden as well. Meeting materials showed the service changed from generating roughly $200,000 each year to costing the city $275,000 annually.
Vehicle spending is also adding more pressure. The average prices in 2026 are projected to be about 44% higher than in 2019, and Werner said the city expects to spend $3 million annually on vehicle replacements.
City officials say the initial rate increase, along with the planned yearly hikes, would help the department keep up with higher operating costs while preserving the solid waste fund balance needed to continue trash and recycling service.
What's being done?
Before pursuing higher rates, New Braunfels officials said they have already taken steps to cut expenses, Community Impact reported. One step was adopting Routeware technology to streamline collection routes and shorten driver training time.
Switching recycling and green waste from weekly service to every-other-week collection has also produced recurring savings, with the presentation attributing those savings to the elimination of five full-time positions.
City trucks were making multiple trips each day to material recovery facilities in San Antonio, and route optimization has reduced that.
Werner said the first increase and the later annual increases would help the city recover costs and keep its fund balance at the target level.
Where can I learn more?
Other cities are wrestling with many of the same trash and recycling cost pressures. These articles cover disputed garbage fees, new collection vehicles, and curbside compost programs.
• In Tennessee, officials rolled out a forced monthly garbage fee tied to wildlife-resistant trash carts.
• Michigan is using federal grants to deploy game-changing vehicles across the state for recycling collection.
• Rhode Island cities are putting a crucial new service at the curb with compost pickup.
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