The move will bump standard curbside service from $15.25 to $15.71 a month, or $47.13 a quarter, Kettering City Manager Mark Schwieterman said.
The same rate hikes will apply to customers with premium household service (increasing to $33.99 a month), qualified senior curbside service ($7.84), and qualified senior household service ($16.55), according to the city.
The first Rumpke rate hike in Kettering since contracting with the city in 2020 is needed to keep pace, according to Gayane Makaryan, a company communications manager.
“Like so many other businesses and industries, Rumpke is encountering rising costs for equipment, materials and labor,” Makaryan said in an email. “The cost to hire and train an employee has risen as well. Beyond that, fuel costs have climbed by more than 48% over the past 12 months.”
She added that the Cincinnati-based business is “making every effort to keep costs as low as possible without sacrificing service; however, a price increase was necessary this year.”
Rumpke contracts with several other area communities, including Dayton, Huber Heights and Springboro.
Kettering’s five-year contract allows for a rate increase this year based on a jump in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, city and company officials said.
Kettering’s switch from Waste Management to Rumpke two years ago was the city’s first such vendor change in 15 years.
“Rumpke has been a valuable community partner,” Schwieterman said in an email. “Rumpke was helpful during the transition in 2020. Their customer service remains exceptional and continues to assist our residents with inquiries and service delivery.”
The quarterly curbside rate with Waste Management before its Kettering contract ended was $41.46, according to the city. But Assistant City Manager Steve Bergstresser has said officials with the Houston-based business told him in mid-2019 that renewing or extending the contract would come with a “significant” hike in rates.
Rumpke is the 13th largest waste hauler in North America, with $694 million in 2019 revenue, according to Waste Today magazine.
Waste Management is first on Waste Today’s list. It had $15.46 billion in 2019 revenues, $5.16 billion ahead of No. 2 Republic Services, the magazine reported.
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