Colorado county lowers disposal fees to reduce illegal dumping

Mesa County, Colorado, has approved a resolution to lower two fees for the Mesa County Solid Waste Management Division. 

“Mesa County is over 70 percent public lands, and we want to ensure that rather than going out and dumping in the desert and finding a hillside, you’re taking responsibility for your waste and bringing it to us,” Jennifer Richardson, director of the county’s Solid Waste and Sustainability Division, tells KKCO. 

Commercial waste will be reduced from $42 to $30 per ton, and loose waste, or residential drop-off, will be reduced from $51 to $32 per ton, KKCO reports. 

Richardson says that while Mesa County does not have a say in what commercial hauling companies charge residents, it hopes that reducing its fees will have a ripple effect.

The county also hopes the change will save the community money and help with safety. 
“When you start stockpiling dry organic yard waste, trees, and brush or you start stockpiling chemicals, that can become a fire hazard,” Richardson says.

Fee changes went into effect Feb. 3.