Jersey City To Introduce New Solid Waste Fee Structure

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Jersey City will have a new solid waste removal fees structure with a flat rate of $12.50 a month per unit, including tax abated properties, and will no longer be tied to water usage rates.

In response to residents’ concerns over bills being higher than anticipated and pegged to water usage, in July, Mayor Steven Fulop and the City Council called for the Municipal Utilities Authority and SUEZ Water to halt all garbage collection fees until the entire formula was fully reassessed to ensure the fairest rate possible.

“We always take residents’ concerns very seriously, and this is a positive outcome for residents. In this instance, residents felt they were overcharged for their waste collection after the MUA acquired the services, and so we immediately demanded they stop the fees until we could ensure accuracy and fairness for all residents citywide,” said Mayor Fulop. “Our eyes are wide open to the fact that residents are dealing with financial burdens surrounding the pandemic, which is why we also worked to reduce property taxes by an average of $1,000 to help offset the waste collection fee.”

Jersey City historically used an outside vendor for waste disposal services until January 2021, when the MUA officially accepted the assignment of the solid waste contract. This allowed for restructuring to create a more equitable solution to waste collection expenses that is fairer for Jersey City residents as tax abated buildings were previously exempt and did not pay the added costs for solid waste collection that residents of non-tax abated buildings have been paying for years.

In July 2021, Mayor Fulop and the City Council demanded SUEZ and the MUA freeze solid waste fees and reexamine the formula to reflect the original intention of the reformed structure more accurately. The new flat rate will result in a rate decrease for residents.

The revised fee will be reflected in the quarterly SUEZ Water bills at the start of the New Year. Those who previously paid in excess of the new flat rate for 2021 will be receiving a credit.

All solid waste collection services and pickup frequency will remain unchanged. For all questions regarding billing, please contact SUEZ Customer Service at 1-800-575-4433.

Related:

• Jersey City Officials Demand MUA, Suez Water Fees Restructure
• Councilman Lavarro Issues Statement On Solid Waste Suspension