Central South Dakota News

The City of Pierre distributed free load coupons with the March utility mailing.

A coupon entitles each residential utility customer to the free disposal of one small trailer or pickup-size load of waste at the City’s solid waste facility. According to Val Keller, Solid Waste Manager, the coupon’s worth depends on how it’s used. 

The minimum charge for trash that comes across the scale at the City’s baling facility $14.40 plus tax. The minimum charge for rubble is $9.30 plus tax.

“A pick-up or small trailer load could easily carry more than the minimum charge,” said Keller. “So using the coupon could save someone $20 or more.”

Pierre Mayor Steve Harding says that the coupons are, historically, well received and well used.

“Between 1,800 and 2,000 of our residential customers use the coupons each year,” said Mayor Harding. “That level of participation clears between 350 and 360 tons of junk out of Pierre annually.”

The coupons, valid through November 2023, are intended for big items. 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 26-thousand tons of trash 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, bicycles, electronics and light bulbs and sells crushed asphalt and yard compost. For details and fee information, visit cityofpierre.org.

Original source can be found here.