Riga, Sept 8 (LETA) - Waste management companies in Riga want to increase the service fee, the External Communications Department of Riga City Council informed LETA.

Riga City Council has received applications from waste managers for a small increase in waste management fees. The municipality is assessing these applications to prevent unjustified increases in fees.

A decision has not yet been taken and the housing and environment committee of the Riga City Council is scheduled to consider the issue in September.

Elina Treija (National Alliance), the chairperson of the housing and environment committee, stressed that the interests of Riga's residents come first. A decision will only be taken when there is certainty that it is justified.

The municipality explained that the waste management fee is made up of two parts. The costs of treating unsorted municipal waste, including the natural resources tax, account for about 65 percent of the fee. In turn, the costs incurred by the operators themselves account for approximately 35 percent of the waste management fee.

Fees are revised in line with inflation, fuel prices, natural resource tax and Getlini Eko waste manager's tariff.

According to the contracts concluded, inflation and fuel prices may affect the revision of these fees once a year. In 2025, compared to 2024, labor costs have increased and fuel prices have decreased, according to the Central Statistical Office.

Waste managers have submitted proposals for a small increase in the fee compared to the current fee, which would be around EUR 0.23-0.32 per cubic meter or an increase of 0.95 percent to 1.18 percent, excluding value added tax, depending on the location.

However, from January 1, 2026, in accordance with the Natural Resources Tax Act, the tax on municipal waste disposal is planned at EUR 130 per ton instead of the current EUR 120 per ton.

Therefore, the tariff for Getlini Eko will be EUR 173.77 per ton instead of the current EUR 167.73 per ton.

This will lead to an additional cost increase of around 2.1-2.4 percent, excluding value added tax, if no compensatory solutions are found.

The municipality pointed out that proper sorting not only reduces costs, but also helps to conserve natural resources and reduces the amount of waste going to landfill. The less unsorted waste, the less you have to pay for its management.

The municipality will continue its dialogue with waste managers and will assess the economic calculations.

The municipality also informed that the share of sorted waste in Riga has increased this year, which not only helps to protect the environment, but also saves people a lot of money, as much of the sorted waste is collected free of charge.

While in 2019, 20 percent of the total municipal waste collected was sorted - paper, plastic and metal, glass, biodegradable waste, textiles - in the first half of 2025, 43 percent of the waste was sorted.