Capital Projects Drive Rate Increases: Solid Waste Rates Could Double by 2034

March 26, 2025

Rates for solid waste disposal are increasing significantly, in part due to several large capital projects. King County’s Solid Waste Division (SWD) estimates that capital projects in planning and underway will cost over $1.36 billion between 2025 and 2040. As a result, we estimate that per-ton garbage disposal fees (i.e., tipping fees) could more than double from $203 per ton in 2025 to over $413 per ton by 2034. The impact of tipping fee increases on customers could be sizable, even for residential curbside customers. Most of SWD’s large capital projects are in early phases such as planning and design, so decision-makers could still mitigate rate impacts by scoping back or eliminating projects.

While we make no new recommendations in this letter, we emphasize the renewed importance for SWD to implement our recommendation from our 2015 audit Utility Rates: Long Term Forecasts Should Reflect Uncertainty to improve its communication of rate forecasts. With significant rate increases on the horizon, SWD should be transparent about capital project options and how different scenarios result in varying rate paths for customers. Implementing this recommendation now would help increase transparency and better inform decision-making.