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Pricing & Fees

Learn more about how and why Southwaste sets our pricing and fees in order to remain competitive in the waste industry.

Southwaste is committed to providing sustainable, high-quality environmentally compliant wastewater collection, processing, and maintenance services. Service rates, surcharges, and fees vary based on service type, location, regulatory requirements, and government taxes or fees. These charges and fees are intended to recover direct and indirect costs of operation and to achieve an acceptable profit margin. Please refer to the information provided below for more detail on the Company’s rate policies and the most common charges and fees.

Understanding Your Invoice

Southwaste Rates & Surcharges

Rate Increases

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In order to provide environmentally compliant, safe, and stellar service Southwaste Disposal will occasionally need to increase service rates. Rate increases are not taken lightly and are necessary to keep pace with rising operational costs and environmental guidelines. Over the past year, Southwaste Disposal has absorbed cost increases in labor, fuel, regulatory, and equipment that have exceeded CPI adjustment averages.

Fuel Surcharge

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The WRM – Fuel Surcharge (FSC) may be assessed to help recover the direct and indirect costs of gasoline, diesel, natural gas, compressed natural gas, electricity, and other hydrocarbon-based fuels, petroleum-based products, lubricants, parts, tires, and other materials or products used in or related to our overall business, including the operation, maintenance, and servicing of our fleet of vehicles and equipment. These charges may fluctuate periodically, including monthly, based on changes in the cost to WRM affiliates of fuel or fuel inputs, materials, supplies, and other related products. These charges may not be directly related to the costs of servicing any specific customer account and instead may be based upon direct and indirect costs, expenses, and operational considerations incurred or expected to be incurred by WRM affiliates on a local, regional, company-wide, or other basis so WRM affiliates can recover fuel- and material-related costs and maintain consistent service levels and financial stability even as these costs fluctuate. The amount, calculation, and application of these charges may vary by service location, service type, affiliate, contract terms, invoicing practices, customer category, equipment used, operating conditions, or other factors. This allows WRM to adjust charges in response to fuel price changes, ensuring operational costs are covered while maintaining service levels. The FSC is applied as a percentage of a customer’s invoice, not directly linked to the cost of servicing individual accounts, and some customers could be exempt or subject to nonstandard rates. The FSC is applied to all monthly or periodic invoice charges before taxes. The FSC allows WRM to keep up with the changing costs of fuel on an enterprise-wide basis and so the amount or percentage of the FSC is not specifically tied to the direct or indirect costs to service a specific collection or disposal customer account. By contract or at a WRM operating company’s discretion, some customers pay a nonstandard FSC, or are exempt from any FSC, which does not change the aggregate FSC charged to all other customers. These charges and fees help each operating subsidiary recover its direct and indirect costs of operation and the FSC includes an amount designed to achieve an acceptable operating margin, reasonable rate of return, and profit margin. The FSC is not a tax, surcharge, or fee mandated by or remitted to any governmental or regulatory agency. These rates may vary in some locations. WRM monitors the costs that comprise the FSC monthly and reserves the right to adjust the FSC at its discretion without advance notice. The index used is the U.S. Department of Energy Information Administration index for the entire United States (EIA.GOV).

Late Payment Fee

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Southwaste Disposal reserves the right to charge you a late payment fee if you fail to pay your balance on or before the invoice due date. Late payment fees help Southwaste Disposal to offset the costs associated with collections and managing unpaid accounts.

Emergency Fee

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Experiencing an emergency? Southwaste Disposal works hard to create efficient dispatch routes and in order to accommodate emergency service, Southwaste may need to charge an additional emergency fee to offset the cost associated with changing those routes.

Manifest Fee

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In select municipalities Southwaste is required to purchase manifests and maintain a historical manifest record. In these municipalities, Southwaste charges a Manifest Fee to help offset the direct costs of the manifests and the administrative costs of recording and archiving manifests.

Houston Municipal Sewer & Water Fee

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The City of Houston Water and Sewer fee is applied to Houston locations to partially offset the cost of Houston’s wastewater utility surcharges.

Franchise Fee

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Franchise fees are charged by certain municipalities for services rendered inside their jurisdictions. If applicable, these fees are billed separately and submitted to the appropriate franchising authority.

How is the Fuel Surcharge Calculated?

The Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy (EIA) publishes Weekly Retail On-Highway Diesel Prices. At the beginning of each quarter, the Fuel Surcharge is determined by comparing that week’s US On-Highway Diesel Price with the corresponding surcharge % in the Company’s Fuel Surcharge Schedule.

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Common Questions

Pricing & Fee FAQs

Why does Southwaste charge a surcharge?

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The cost of fuel is beyond our control. In order to maintain competitive rates within the market, this surcharge helps offset the cost of collection, transfer, and disposal of liquid waste.

How is the average diesel price set?

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Every Monday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration collects prices from a sample size of approximately 400 diesel outlets throughout the continental US based on cash self-serve on-highway diesel prices.

If the cost of fuel goes down, will my surcharge go down?

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Yes! If the national average diesel price decreases, so will your Fuel Surcharge. Refer to the above table for rates.

Is there a separate environmental surcharge?

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No! As part of our transition to the Fuel Surcharge effective 1/1/2022, we have replaced any previous fuel and environmental charges with the indexed Fuel Surcharge.

When did Southwaste implement the Fuel Surcharge?

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This change is effective 1/1/2022, and will appear on your invoice moving forward.

Houston Municipal Sewer & Water Fee

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The City of Houston Water and Sewer fee is applied to Houston locations to partially offset the cost of Houston’s wastewater utility surcharges.

I still have questions about my bill

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We’re sorry to hear that. If you have additional questions and need to speak to someone, please fill out our Contact Us form or give us a call at 713-413-9400.
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Our billing team is here to help. Call (866) 413-9494 or contact us online with any pricing questions.

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