Katy residents will pay $17.66 per month for trash and recycling pickup starting Tuesday, Sept. 1, up from $16.85, after the City Council approved a 4.8% rate increase at its Monday, Aug. 10 meeting.

The increase amounts to $0.81 per month, or about $9.72 more per year, for each residential household.

The council approved a contract amendment with Texas Pride Disposal, the city's solid waste hauler, tying the rate adjustment to the national consumer price index, according to Community Impact Newspaper. Charges for small commercial units and additional garbage or recycling carts are not changing.

Even with the bump, Katy's new rate remains lower than what residents paid under the city's previous hauler, Republic Services. When that contract expired in 2020, the monthly residential fee was $17.87, according to city agenda documents.

Fulshear approved a similar hike in July

Fulshear City Council approved a nearly identical increase on July 21, raising its monthly residential solid waste rate from $16.90 to $17.72, a 4.85% CPI adjustment, according to Covering Katy. Fulshear's increase takes effect Oct. 1 and will first appear on November utility bills.

Fulshear's hauler is GFL Environmental, and the city is preparing to seek competitive bids for a new residential solid waste contract before its current agreement expires in March 2027. At a July 7 workshop on future contract options, Fulshear Public Works Director Cliff Brouhard told council members, "We can ask for the moon, but you're gonna pay for the moon, right?"

What residents need to know

Katy households should see the new $17.66 rate on their September utility bills. No action is required. The increase applies only to standard residential solid waste and recycling service.