The $2-dollar Solid Waste increase goes into effect September 1st and Las Cruces Utilities (LCU) has an option to keep your bill the same while supporting reduction of waste. Every dollar counts and we all need good options to make the right financial decisions for our households.
If you notice that you do not fill up your traditional 96-gallon container every week, consider switching to a 64-gallon container and keep the same rate of $13.25 per month.
The $2 increase came after months of analysis by Stantec, Inc., an independent consultant, who studied the cost of providing quality solid waste services to our community compared to current LCU rates and found a $1.3 million annual deficit to retain the quality of service that residents expect and that LCU aims to provide.
Even with the $2 per month rate increase, LCU continues to rank among the least expensive solid waste service providers in our region. For comparison, the monthly rate for El Paso customers is $19 for their 96-gallon bin.
Las Cruces residents’ rates for their 96-gallon containers will rise from $13.25 to $15.25 a month. Compact 64-gallon containers will rise from $11.25 to $13.25 a month. The cost of an additional trash container, $9 a month, will remain the same.
LCU manages nearly 74,000 tons of trash annually from more than 33,000 homes, commercial trash pickup at more than 2,700 businesses, monthly Grappler and Green Grappler services, along with clean fill and green waste management. The most recent Solid Waste rate increase went into effect five years ago. LCU operates as an Enterprise Fund, meaning it receives funding only for services provides and rates paid from residents and commercial customers.
“A portion of the rate increase will allow us to replace older vehicles in order to stay productive with an increasing population in our city,” said Dr. Jorge Garcia, P.E., LCU director. “While we do in-house maintenance and repair to most our own fleet, sometimes the life cycle of our vehicles has ended, and newer trucks make even more sense while being even more energy efficient.”
Change your container size by calling Customer Central at 575-541-2111 or email: customerservice@las-cruces.org.
If you are having trouble paying your bill, especially during the COVID pandemic, please call Customer Central. There is funding and programs available to help you keep your utilities going through these challenging times.
LCU can be reached at 575-528-3500 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. LCU provides services to approximately 100,000 Las Cruces residents and businesses.