About 10 years ago, United Disposal had an across the board rate increase. Costs had gone up and it was needful to maintain the business. 10 years later, we find ourselves in a similar situation. So I would like to look at what has happened in the last 10 years that has brought about such change in our lives.

10 years ago was the year 2008. Here is a list of things and what they cost then vs now (as per anitome.com):

2008 Cost of things (U.S. Averages):

Gallon of Milk~ $2.65
Dozen Eggs~ $1.29
U.S. Postage Stamp~ 42 cents
New Car Price~ $28,160
Movie Ticket~ $6.95
Price of new house~ $238,880

2018 Cost of Things (U.S. Averages):

Gallon of Milk (whole)~ $2.92 (bls.gov)
Dozen Eggs(Large, Grade A)~  $1.76 (bls.gov)
U.S. Postage Stamp~ 50 cents (Wikipedia)
New Car Price (Industry Average)~ $36,270  (Kelley Blue Book kbb.com)
Movie Ticket~ $9.18 (Boxofficemojo.com)
Median sales price of new house in November~ $326,800 (Census.gov)

Let’s look at it another way. According to http://www.usinflationcalculator.com, there was an inflation rate of 16.4% between 2008 and 2018. What does that mean? Well, essentially it says that if you bought something 10 years ago for $20, you can expect it to cost $23.27 today.

It’s interesting to look back through history sometimes, and this is no exception. I’m sure not everything has gone up in price over that time, but life sure has made things interesting in the last 10 years.

So it is with us. Wage increases, price of fuel, and other expenses have gone up for us as well. Our efforts to lower expenses is constant, but what used to be enough just isn’t anymore, so we have decided to raise our rates. In doing so not only have we come in under the current inflation rate for the last 10 years but found we could keep our prices competitive as well.

On average, we expect the rate increase to be about 10-12%, but each person is a little different. We promise to continue offering the same great service at competitive pricing. As always, we feel it important to keep all of our pricing straightforward and honest, and this is no exception. Tactics such as hidden fees and rates have never been good business practice in our minds, and the people in the areas that we service have shown us that such honesty and integrity matter to them. We thank you for that. Do we expect to have another price increase in the future? Well, one thing we have become known for is a lack of regular price increases. I, for one, would like to keep it that way.

We appreciate having you as customers. As we move forward into the future we hope to prove that to you. If you have any questions or if you need to discuss the services you have with us, please give us a call. We’ll be glad to help you out.