Following a robust discussion, the Board of County Commissioners voted to close a $3 million budget gap in Lane County’s Waste Management Division by increasing fees and reducing some services.

“Our community values rural transfer sites, and they are an important part of our solid waste system,” said Waste Management Division Manager Jeff Orlandini. “We rely on the fees people and haulers pay when they bring us materials to fund our transfer sites and other services, but those revenues have declined sharply in recent years. These changes will allow us to balance our budget while preserving as many of our services as possible.”

The budget gap is the result of several years of waste exportation by Waste Connections, which owns Sanipac, EcoSort, and County Waste & Transfer. Historically, communities and solid waste haulers have helped fund transfer sites and other services, such as household hazardous waste collection and recycling programs, by paying a fee when they bring garbage to Lane County sites. By taking waste out of Lane County to a site owned by Waste Connections near Medford, Ore. Lane County is unable to collect enough fees to keep services at the current level and the Waste Management Division does not receive tax funding.

While haulers in unincorporated Lane County and the cities of Eugene, Florence and Oakridge are required to bring their waste to Lane County to support our local system, other cities have refused to require their haulers to do the same, including Cottage Grove, Creswell, Springfield, and Veneta.

The changes adopted by the Board of Commissioners will take effect on Monday, August 10, 2026 and include three components: a fee increase, reduced hours at multiple locations, and closure of the Walton Transfer Site. After August 10, Lane County will still operate 14 solid waste transfer sites—more than any other county in Western Oregon—and the new minimum fee remains lower than Lane County’s five comparator counties, where minimum disposal fees range between $28 and $53.63.

Summary of changes that take effect on Monday, August 10:

• Fees
• The fees for using transfer sites will increase by 5 percent and the new minimum fee at all transfer sites will be $25 (formerly $15). There are no fee changes for municipal solid waste brought to Short Mountain Landfill by commercial haulers.
• There will no longer be a $1 discount for bringing recyclables.
• Reduced hours
• Creswell Transfer Site (34293 Cloverdale Road):
• Creswell will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday. It will be open Friday and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Veneta Transfer Site (24444 Bolton Hill Road):
• Veneta will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. It will be open Wednesday–Saturday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Other transfer sites:
• Many other locations will have slightly reduced hours.
• Closures
• The Walton Transfer Site (18585 Transformer Road) will permanently close on August 10, 2026.