EREF has calculated a national average tip fee since 2016 in order to fulfill its mission to guide sustainable materials management through data-driven analysis. EREF’s 7th annual MSW landfill tip fee report included data from 348 municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLFs) across all fifty states. The 2022 report found a steep incline in fees nationwide apart from the Southeast region which experienced only a 2 percent increase. The national unweighted average tip fee rose to $58.47 per ton, 8 percent higher than the $54.03 reported in 2021. The unweighted average is the average of all fees where the fees from each reporting landfill is equally weighted. The weighted average is the average of all fees based on relative amount of MSW managed at each reporting landfill. The figure below indicates average weighted and unweighted tip fee by region.
While the Pacific and Northeast continue to have the highest fees per ton in the U.S., the Midwest and South-Central regions saw the highest percent increase at 22 and 29 percent, respectively. These two regions also exhibit the highest year-over-year increase since 2018.
| Region | Average Tipping Fee (weighted) | |||
| 2021 | 2022 | Difference | % Change | |
| Northeast | $69.64 | $75.92 | $6.28 | 9% |
| Pacific | $64.98 | $69.02 | $4.04 | 6% |
| Midwest | $50.93 | $62.02 | $11.09 | 22% |
| Mountains/Plains | $45.46 | $50.84 | $5.38 | 12% |
| South Central | $37.87 | $48.70 | $10.83 | 29% |
| Southeast | $43.89 | $44.75 | $0.86 | 2% |
| National Average | $54.03 | $58.47 | $4.44 | 8% |
EREF explored the relationship between the annual average tipping fee and four common indicators: the Consumer Price Index (CPI), motor vehicle repair costs, vehicle manufacturing costs, and wages. Using a regression analysis (sorting out which of these variables has a measurable impact), EREF identified a moderate relationship between these indicators and tip fees, with the strongest being wages. As the cost of labor rises, tip fees also rise, as labor makes up a significant expense for waste management services.
To account for differences in the amount of MSW landfilled at each facility and in each region due to factors such as total waste generation, fraction recovered for recycling and/or composting, and interstate transport, EREF regularly calculates both unweighted and ton-weighted average tip fees. Additional details on these methodologies can be found in the full report.
EREF’s free report, Analysis of MSW Landfill Tipping Fees – 2022, shares additional 2022 tipping fee data.