Starting with invoices generated in April 2023, the Environmental and Regulatory Cost Recovery (RCR) charges on most of our collection and disposal customers' invoices were absorbed into the base service rate. As a result, the Environmental and RCR charges no longer appear as separate items on the invoice. In addition, at the same time we replaced our Fuel Surcharge, which was tied to changes in diesel fuel prices only, with an 'Energy Surcharge' that is tied to changes in the price of both diesel and compressed natural gas ("CNG") which now powers much of our collection fleet.
Information about the new Energy Surcharge can be found here. In certain instances, due to contract or other restrictions, some WM customers may still be charged and see the former Fuel/Environmental and RCR charges on their invoice, rather than the new Energy Surcharge. For those customers, information about the Fuel Surcharge and Environmental and RCR Charges is provided below.
WM is committed to providing customers with safe and reliable quality waste services at a reasonable price. WM has made investments in cleaner technologies, such as LNG or CNG trucks, reducing our overall impact on the environment, but fuel prices and environmental compliance-related costs are something we cannot fully control. Our standard Fuel/Environmental Charge is meant to help our WM operating companies cover these costs and achieve an acceptable operating margin. The Fuel/Environmental Charge is one line item on customer invoices that contains two separate components: a Fuel Surcharge and an Environmental Charge.
The Fuel Surcharge allows our WM operating companies to recover the cost of diesel, natural gas and other hydrocarbon based fuels and products that WM on an enterprise-wide basis (through its WM operating companies) uses in its overall business, above a baseline cost. That baseline cost is measured in diesel cost @$.95/gallon. This charge allows our WM operating companies to keep up with the changing costs of diesel, natural gas and other hydrocarbon based fuels and products, and allows them to achieve the operating margin they need to maintain the high level of service that customers expect. Our standard Fuel Surcharge calculation is tied directly to the national average price of diesel fuel as reported weekly by the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy ("EIA/DOE") in its Weekly Retail On-Highway Diesel Prices Index. This index is objective, publicly available and widely recognized in the trucking and transportation industries. Tying our standard Fuel Surcharge to this index ensures customers are assessed a fuel surcharge that is currently adjusted and easy to calculate.
EIA/DOE average is published each Monday and will be used for invoices created during that week. The WM Collection Fuel Surcharge Table or WM Disposal Fuel Surcharge Table shows what the Fuel Surcharge, as a percentage of a customer’s monthly or other periodic invoice charges, before taxes, would be based upon the last reported EIA/DOE national diesel price prior to a customer’s invoice date.
The amount or percentage of the Fuel Surcharge is not specifically tied to the direct or indirect costs to service a specific customer account. By contract or at a WM operating company’s discretion, some customers pay a nonstandard fuel surcharge or are exempt from any fuel surcharge. Through fuel surcharges, WM operating companies attempt to collectively recover all WM enterprise-wide costs for diesel, natural gas and other hydrocarbon based fuels and products used by WM operating companies above the $.95/gallon diesel cost baseline, from only those customers subject to a fuel surcharge, excluding any exempt or non-paying customers.
The Environmental Charge is 20% of all invoice charges, including the Fuel Surcharge, but excluding the Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge and taxes. (Some disposal customers are charged a flat rate per load or other rate or amount in accordance with their service or contract terms. Contact your local Technical Service Center through www.wmsolutions.com for more details.)
The Environmental Charge allows our WM operating companies to cover WM's enterprise-wide costs and expenses for its WM operating companies to operate collection, transfer, landfill, and recycling operations in a safe and environmentally responsible manner, and to achieve an acceptable operating margin. The amount or percentage of the Environmental Charge is not specifically tied to the direct or indirect costs to service a specific customer account. By contract or at a WM operating company’s discretion, some customers pay a nonstandard environmental charge or are exempt from any environmental charge. Through environmental charges, WM operating companies attempt to collectively recover all applicable WM enterprise-wide environmentally related costs of its WM operating companies from only those customers subject to an environmental charge, excluding any exempt or non-paying customers.
The Fuel/Environmental Charge included on a customer's invoice is determined by first applying the Fuel Surcharge percentage from the WM Collection Fuel Surcharge Table or WM Disposal Fuel Surcharge Table to the total invoice charges (excluding the Environmental Charge, Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge and taxes). Then the environmental percentage is applied to the total invoice charges, including the Fuel Surcharge calculation. For example, a bill totaling $25.00 for services, with a $3.00 Fuel Surcharge, would see an additional $5.60 applied for the Environmental Charge (20% of $28). For ease of reference, the Historical WM Fuel/Environmental Charge Percentages table shows the Fuel and Environmental Charge percentages applied by our WM collection and disposal companies for the previous 52 weeks. This table also references the corresponding EIA/DOE value for each week. Contact your local WM office if you require more information.
Our WM operating companies incur millions of dollars in host community fees and waste disposal taxes every year. As a result, our WM operating companies assess a Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge on customer invoices, currently 3.6% of all invoice charges, including the Fuel/Environmental Charge, but excluding taxes.
This charge allows our WM operating companies to collectively recover a portion of WM's overall enterprise-wide costs associated with host community fees, waste disposal taxes and similar charges paid by our WM operating companies to municipal or other governmental authorities or agencies to engage in the waste collection, transfer, processing, disposal, treatment and/or recycling business, and to achieve an acceptable operating margin. The amount or percentage of the Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge is not specifically tied to the direct or indirect costs to service a specific customer account, but to WM's overall applicable enterprise-wide host community and other regulatory costs for all customers, whether they pay this charge or not. By contract or at a WM operating company’s discretion, some customers pay a nonstandard Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge or are exempt from such charge.
The Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge is our WM operating companies’ charge; it is not tied specifically to any fees, taxes or charges applicable to your local service area that our WM operating companies are required to collect and remit to any governmental agency. The Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge percentage may be changed in the future at the company’s discretion. Any such changes shall be subject to an existing customer’s applicable service terms.
This charge helps us keep up with the changing costs of diesel, natural gas and other hydrocarbon based fuels and products that we use on an enterprise-wide basis (WM and its WM operating companies). Fuel surcharges are common in the transportation industry and are charged by other waste haulers, trucking companies and airline carriers.
The Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge is a WM standard charge intended to cover a portion of WM's enterprise-wide costs associated with host community fees, waste disposal taxes and similar charges that WM operating companies pay to municipal or other governmental authorities or agencies to engage in the waste collection, transfer, processing, disposal, treatment and/or recycling business.
