Chaffee County staff propose targeted landfill fee increases, plan mattress‑recycling pilot

County landfill staff presented commissioners with a revenue model for fiscal 2026, saying modest across‑the‑board increases would generate little new money and that targeted adjustments by waste category are under consideration.

"The increase in overall landfill revenues, even if we were to do a 5% across the board increase, is only about $77,000," said Speaker 6, the county staff member leading the briefing, noting the need to replenish reserves and cover rising compliance and engineering costs. Staff told the board they had dipped into reserves this year and made a PILT transfer to underwrite operations that will need to be repaid.

Why it matters: County officials framed the changes as necessary to maintain the landfill’s enterprise‑fund model while limiting community impact. Commissioners repeatedly urged staff to prefer targeted increases for categories that require special handling, rather than a flat percentage across all waste types.

Details: Staff described several proposals being modeled: targeted increases for materials that have higher processing or regulatory costs; a mattress‑recycling partnership with Spring Back that would require internal subsidy because break‑down costs are substantial (Speaker 6 estimated mattress processing at roughly $45–$50 each and noted the county receives about 2,200 mattresses a year; another participant reviewed four years of records and said the long‑run figure is closer to 2,500 per year). The county is also evaluating reinstating local freon removal for refrigerators and air conditioners, proposing fees of roughly $15 per Freon‑containing unit and $15 for standard appliances to recover contractor costs.

State and federal context: Staff warned the board about scheduled state increases to the mandated solid‑waste user fee over the next 18 months, which will add modest costs the county must absorb; staff estimated roughly a $50,000 annual impact from that state fee change. They also said some producer‑responsibility funds expected from state extended‑producer responsibility programs may be available in mid‑to‑late next year to reimburse the county for residential diversion programs, but staff cautioned that those funds won’t be fully modeled until spring.

What’s next: Staff said a finalized fee schedule and formal action are expected at next week’s meeting, with changes intended to take effect January 1 so the county can update point‑of‑service and scale systems and notify residents and commercial haulers.