On October 1, the trash fee on New Orleans water bills went up from $24 to $32.25 a month. Starting in 2028, it will change every year to match the cost of trash service.
Why the change? The fee hadn’t moved since 2011, while trash costs jumped from about $36 million in 2021 to $61 million this year. The City has covered the gap from its main budget, a total projected to top $80 million from 2021 through 2027.
BGR’s new report finds the cost-based fee is a sound solution, but it comes with a risk: any unnecessary costs will land on residents’ bills. A state audit found that the City may be paying to serve nearly 13,000 addresses that shouldn’t be on its lists.
The City is cleaning up the lists now, which could result in cost savings, and it plans to make regular updates after that. BGR supports that effort and recommends additional layers of cost monitoring and public information.
Read our findings and recommendations for keeping trash costs, and your bill, in check.