Lane County Faces Revenue Shortfall as Haulers Export Trash Out of County

Lane County's public-works division warned the Board of County Commissioners this week that Sanipac, the region's dominant waste hauler, has cost the county more than $5 million in system benefit fees by routing trash to a southern Oregon landfill rather than Short Mountain, the county-managed facility just south of Eugene. Without those funds, county staff said the 15 transfer stations serving communities across Lane County face potential cuts to hours and services.

The financial squeeze stems from a decision by Sanipac's Texas-based parent company, Waste Connections Inc., to begin shipping collected waste to the Dry Creek Landfill near Medford, which Waste Connections owns. An intermediate processor called EcoSort now receives garbage from Sanipac and Cottage Grove Garbage Service before transferring it south. Based on state data, the county estimates about 7,000 tons of Lane County waste arrive at Dry Creek each month, totaling more than 80,000 tons a year. The diversion has pushed the county's overall landfill tonnage down nearly 15% in a single year, from 299,273 tons received at Short Mountain in 2024 to 254,735 tons in 2025.

Haulers typically pay both a tipping fee and a system benefit fee when depositing waste at Short Mountain; those revenues underwrite transfer-station operations, household hazardous waste disposal, recycling programs and long-term landfill management. County staff told commissioners the situation has become urgent because reserves needed to fund the next construction phase at Short Mountain, scheduled to begin in 2028, are not being built. A county memo presented to commissioners stated directly: "Not receiving these fees, while continuing to provide the same level of services to residents, has eroded the ability to set aside sufficient funds for landfill development, closure and post-closure care."

Sanipac's position centers on a jurisdictional dispute. Aaron Donley, the company's senior accounts manager, has argued that no intergovernmental agreement between the City of Springfield and Lane County exists, and that the system benefit fee therefore does not apply to waste collected in Springfield. "There is no intergovernmental agreement between the city of Springfield and Lane County, so therefore we don't collect a system benefit fee from our customers; therefore, we don't remit it to Lane County," Donley said. The county disputes that reading of its code and is weighing legal and regulatory options alongside fee adjustments.

Commissioners received three broad options: lower system benefit fees to make Short Mountain more price-competitive with Dry Creek, trim transfer-station hours or services to reduce costs, or pursue formal enforcement against haulers the county believes owe unpaid fees.

The dispute is already reshaping decisions in smaller cities. The Creswell City Council last month directed City Manager Vincent Martorello to begin the process of terminating the city's intergovernmental waste-fee agreement with Lane County, citing concerns about rate pressures on Creswell residents if the county raises fees to offset the shortfall.

The Board of County Commissioners is expected to take up policy options at upcoming public meetings, with any formal fee changes or service adjustments likely to ripple across every community, urban and rural, that relies on the county's transfer-station network.