Solid Waste Load Coupons Distributed
The City of Pierre distributed solid waste load coupons with the March utility mailing.
A coupon entitles each residential utility customer to the free disposal of up to 1,200 pounds of waste at the City’s solid waste facility or a flat rate of $15.30 plus tax for a load over 1,200 pounds. According to Val Keller, Solid Waste Manager, the coupon program has been expanded in 2024.
“Previously, there was no cost break for anything over 1,200 pounds,” said Keller. “Now, anything over the 1,200 pounds get charged a minimum flat rate regardless of tonnage over 1,200 pounds.”
“Using the coupon could pretty easily save someone $20, if not more.”
Pierre Mayor Steve Harding says that the coupons are used by a good share of the City’s residential utility customers.
“Each year, about 2,000 customers or about a third of our residential customers use the coupon,” said Mayor Harding. “That clears between 350 and 360 tons of junk out of Pierre annually.”
The coupons, valid through November 2024, are intended to clear large items out of yards, garages, and homes. Customers should continue to use garbage collection services for household waste. Residential utility customers who receive their utility bill electronically are still entitled to a coupon. The staff at the solid waste facility maintains a list of those customers and will issue a coupon at the time of disposal.
The City of Pierre’s solid waste facility processes all non-recycled solid waste collected in Pierre, Fort Pierre, Onida, Agar, Midland, Miller, Highmore, and Huron, as well as Hughes, Hand, and Hyde Counties. In total, that amounts to about 30-thousand tons of trash and more than 2,500 tons of rubble and construction debris each year. Once baled at Pierre’s solid waste facility, that garbage is disposed at the regional landfill outside of Pierre.
The solid waste department also offers recycling programs for paint, household cleaners, bicycles, electronics and light bulbs and sells crushed asphalt and yard compost. For details and fee information, visit cityofpierre.org.