To the surprise of its customers, Republic Services — a North American solid waste collection company with services in Champaign-Urbana — silently increased its rate for trash collection this fall.

In October, an Urbana resident said their bill increased from $130 to more than $180, even after the company had issues with timely trash pickups throughout the two years the resident used it.

“This company has unscrupulous business practices, and with freedom of choice, of trash providers in the U-C area, don’t hire them,” the north Urbana resident wrote on Nextdoor.

Nearly a decade ago, eight licensed solid waste haulers picked up residential trash and recycling in Champaign. Now, the city relies on five haulers, after GFL Environmental Inc., a Canadian-based waste management company, purchased several haulers.

Alongside GFL, this year remain ABC Sanitary Hauling, Illini Recycling, CR Disposal and Republic Services. However, customers have taken to Nextdoor, with complaints and reports that Republic Services has continuously raised its rates without notifying its customers until they get the bill.

A Sept. 15 invoice from another customer of Republic Services, a national company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, showed a nearly $50 increase from last quarter: $171.02 to $219.83, a nearly 30% increase.

On its website, the company states customers “will receive an advance notice of any rate increases.” Notification for a raised rate will be through an invoice message or a change on a customer’s invoice, if it is billed in advance.

The customer had less than two weeks to arrange new services to avoid being charged the new rate — and pay the cancellation fee.

Below are the single-tote rates of the five haulers for comparison:

• ABC Sanitary charges $42 monthly; equates to $126 quarterly
• CR Disposal charges $35 monthly, or $105 quarterly
• Illini Recycling charges $29 monthly; equates to $87 quarterly
• GFL does not share local price or rate information on its website. In response to a quote request from CU-CitizenAccess, a customer service representative sent in an email that a quarterly bill’s estimation is $186.
• Republic Services does not share local price or rate information on its website. Customer service will also not provide a price unless a specified address is given. 

In west Champaign, one Republic customer paid $218.83 for one quarter. A review of several Nextdoor comments found two neighbors paid vastly different rates than the other in another Champaign neighborhood. One paid $51.36, and the other paid $201.51 for one quarter.

Republic Services also charges an administrative fee of $5.95 per invoice and an environmental recovery fee.

The administrative fee is for the company’s operational costs, and the amount depends on reaching “an acceptable operating margin.” Republic Services refers to the environmental fee as “a fluctuating percentage of all invoice charges.” For several customers’ invoices, the total environmental fee can fluctuate anywhere from around $11 to upwards of $60.

Another notable fee is container removal, which adds another charge of $45 to $50 when a customer wants to cancel the service. However, on its website, the company does not have this price listed.

A Glenn Park resident described their experience with Republic Services on Nextdoor, mentioning an increase in their bill statement without prior knowledge regarding a higher rate. After speaking with a representative on the phone who “was huffy and angry and had no explanation,” the resident was told that they would have to pay $50 for container removal.

“I told them I’d just bring them the can, and she said I couldn’t do that,” the Glenn Park resident wrote. “I told her I wouldn’t pay, she threatened legal action, I told her I’d never signed a contract and I was leaving the can at the curb – they could pick it up if they wanted it back, but I was not paying.”

Several residents described their own phone calls with Republic Services, writing that the company has “very poor customer service” and “don’t have records of me calling.”

In 2016, Republic Services reduced its customer service locations from over 100 to three customer resource centers. The company’s structural reworking was intended to enhance employees’ abilities to provide better service to its customers. The “better service” includes numerous points of contact, like phone calls, emails, social channels, text and live chat.

Republic Services did not return multiple requests for comment.