Sharp waste disposal price hike in store for Tallinn from July
Starting July 1, waste collection prices in Tallinn will increase by an average of 63 percent. According to the city government, the price hike is due to rising pollution charges on waste incineration and landfill disposal.
The increase in pollution charges directly affects waste processing costs and is therefore also reflected in the price of organized waste collection services, the Tallinn city government said.
The price increase affects the collection of mixed municipal waste and, to a lesser extent, biowaste. Paper disposal will remain free of charge and the prices of additional services will not increase.
"The change in waste collection prices is not the result of a city decision, but of an increase in the national pollution charge. The city can act only within the current legal framework and for our part we are ensuring that waste collection companies' requests for price increases correspond only to the increase in the national pollution charge," Tallinn Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan (Isamaa) said.
Waste collection companies have submitted requests for price changes for all Tallinn waste collection districts and the city has verified that the requests comply with contractual limits. The new prices will take effect on July 1 and waste collection companies will notify residents of the exact prices during May.
On average, the cost of collecting mixed municipal waste in Tallinn will rise by around 63 percent, though the exact increase will depend on the waste collection district, container size and current service price.
For example, in the Tallinn City Center (Kesklinn) district, calculations show that the price of emptying a 240-liter mixed municipal waste container once will increase by €1.86, from €3.16 to €5.02, while the cost of emptying an 800-liter container will rise by €3.37, from €6.60 to €10.47. At the same time, the price of emptying a 140-liter biowaste container will increase from €0.71 to €1.13. Waste paper collection will remain free of charge for residents.
The largest increase will apply to mixed municipal waste disposal as this type of waste is sent to incineration plants or landfills, which are the most expensive and environmentally harmful methods of waste processing. Lower disposal costs for other types of waste are intended to encourage sorting waste by type, the city government noted.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
