Tipping Fees Going Up and Up and Up - How do you deal with it?

My Answer:

(A) Changing the game (don’t just compete on price.)

(B) Auditing the landfill invoices (many, many “errors.”)

(C) Real-time disposal site selection.

It was no surprise to me or any other roll-off hauler, but the April 2019 Analysis of MSW Landfill Tipping Fees are up to $2.74 per ton from last year.  In my region, the increase is$5.94 per ton.  I wish I could just pass this increase along to my customers, but you know it isn’t that easy.  In my market, rates generally include 5 tons, which could mean up to 30% of my profit!

All I can say is I’m glad we use Starlight software 5280 Waste Solutions.  If I was still simply competing on price with all the other haulers in my market, I’d have to eat this cost the way I used to do years ago. Since I have Starlight software, I have been able to change the game.  Sure, price still matters, but now so does service level. 

With Starlight, I now do 1/3 of my business assume-day orders.  I offer smartphone ordering & account details.  Soon, I'll start providing my larger contractors with a web portal for managing many job sites.  I’ve become the preferred hauler in my market, especially for professionally run contractors.

Another thing Starlight does is find all the errors I get in my landfill invoices every month. By streamlining the weight ticket data collection, it is super easy for my staff to audit the invoices.  They always find many errors, which always seem to go against me somehow.  Starlight saves me money.  

Lastly, since I have scales on my trucks (but it could be done without scales), I am able to get real-time feedback to my dispatch on disposal weight.  This means we can re-route heavy loads to cheaper landfills (we have many options in Denver) when I can move orders to other drivers to maintain my service level.  This is a huge saving.

I should also mention that I am about to open my own C&DRecycling center.  This will not only help my customers to get their recycling credits, but it will also significantly reduce my disposal costs.

How do you manage disposal costs?  

I’d be happy to talk about any of this with you.  You can find me on LinkedIn or call me at 720-699-8530.

Bill Bradley, Owner of 5280 Waste Solutions and Starlightsoftware

About Bill Bradley: Combining 7 years of experience running roll-off with 20 years in software and technology. Bill Bradley foundedStarlight. Prior experience includes CEO of Enlighten Software, a NASDAQ-listed systems software company in Silicon Valley. Bill believed that when he purchased 5280 Waste Solutions, that there was a better way to do roll-off. WithStarlight software 5820 Waste Solutions has become the largest roll-off haulers in the Rocky Mountain Region.