WM helping apartment operator save big through waived fees during COVID-19

Trash volumes at apartment communities are showing a 30 to 35 percent increase nationally during the COVID-19 crisis, according to Camden Residential, a Houston-based real estate investment trust (REIT) that operates 165 properties across the country.

Camden Residential Director of National Purchasing Rick Pippin says that waste volumes have increased for all materials except for cardboard. Although residents certainly haven’t halted ordering from Amazon and other online retailers, Pippin says, because no one is moving out during this national shelter-in-place environment, residents aren’t generating a noticeable increase in box disposal.

Camden has trash compactors at 100 of its communities, so overage is not an issue at those locations. But for the other properties, where haulers provide trash pickup five or six or times per week, Pippin says he’s seeing overflow in the bins nearest to the buildings.

“The bins way in the back of the lot aren’t seeing waste piled as high,” Pippin says. “I’m fighting with those [residents] who carry the trash to the bins to even it out, telling them to walk a bit further before dumping, but there’s only so much you can do.”

Pippin says Camden’s waste haulers typically charge $150 in overage fees each time a bin exceeds capacity, but Houston-based Waste Management has waived those fees through May in response to the pandemic. Waste Management serves roughly 70 percent of Camden’s communities.

“I’ve not been notified of any fee discounts by my other waste haulers, but I’m still waiting for the next round of invoices. Maybe it will show up there.”

According to Pippin, this cost savings has quickly added up to help the company save as waste piles up during shelter-in-place mandates.  

 “We have as many as 25 bins at some properties,” Pippin says. “This is saving us about $8,000 per week in expenses. Waste Management also has not been enforcing some recycling contamination fees, so we’re kind of getting a mulligan on that, too. Every little bit helps.”