Effective today, Jan. 3, the Self-Deposit Station, at 1106 Blake Ave, will be changing its user fees from a daily user fee to a per visit user fee.
The new user fee will be $3 per visit.
Making this change will help sustain the facility, a valuable service we are proud to provide, and will continue to.
The self-deposit station will likely never be self-sufficient, and that’s OK.
It costs us more than $175,000 to operate the facility each year, and we recover less than half of that cost through fees. We need to find ways to reasonably cover that expense in an era of rising costs and limited sources of city revenue, and I think this fee change is reasonable.
Remember, each home owner also receives a free special pickup each year.
Self Deposit Station winter hours (December 1-March 31) are …
- Tuesday and Friday 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
- Saturday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
- CLOSED Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday
Get more details on the Street Department and self-deposit station here.
South Milwaukee Blog 
Let the residents of Cudahy come here and charge them an arm and a leg.
It is not accurate to say that there is one free pick-up per year per household. I live in a condo with 80 households and the entire complex gets only one free pick-up per year AND the Association and each of the 80 owners is charged a special annual garbage tax.
You are correct. I adjusted the post.
Again, 80 HOMEOWNERS, 1 free pick-up. Short end of the stick again. Just like the lawsuit settlement.
Why does it cost $175,000 per year to run that facility? Please provide a breakdown.
Well they are open 19 hrs per week. That comes to about 9210 per hr.
correction. thats about 1000 hrs per year or 175 per hr
correction that is about 1000 hrs per year or 175 per hr.
As to cost, wages and benefits for staffing the station — and shuttling waste to landfills, chipping wood, etc. — amount to more than $78,000 of the cost. The other costs are related to fees we pay to landfills and others for disposal of various items.
I have a lot of Christmas boxes, paper, etc to drop off since it did not fit in my brown garbage cart. I went by the Self-Deposit station and noticed the new cost signage. I feared that this was the going to add to the cost in the new year. Will the cost be the same for a compact car, an SUV, a full size truck or a vehicle towing a trailer? If yes, why not charge for the amount being deposited? This is an extra tax on those of us that drive smaller vehicles. How did the city calculate this new price and will it break even in 2020? Did the city have any public comment during a Common Council meeting? If not, how can the citizens of South Milwaukee lobby to change these tax increases? I also suggest that if all you are depositing are recyclable products there should be no charge.
Agree 100%! The Mayor and Council are concerned we had no voice in the construction of the postal facility in Oak Creek, but don’t want our input on matters in SM. The comments here never change anything. The only comments that matter are the ones made at the ballot box.
We want and seek input all the time on issues, value it. It’s why I maintain this blog, my Facebook page and more, and make myself very available for feedback. This like all fee increases went through the proper public process — unlike the postal facility — before approval, and we have over communicated it sense, on my direction. That said, the increase is fair and reasonable, helping us fund a service some communities don’t provide at all and some do at much higher cost. As to different rates for types of vehicles, I know some do that, but I prefer our system. And if we instituted that, I’m sure I’d then hear complaints from SUV and pickup owners.
All fair points and questions, Patrick. I answered a few in another response. As to if this fee increase will make the facility break even, it won’t. As of now, revenues are about half of overall expenses for the facility. That will change some with the increase but certainly not close that gap. And that’s OK. I don’t expect services to pay for themselves. But where we can help fund them through fair and reasonable fees, we will. This is an example of that.
How is it fair that the owners of condos don’t get the same service as owners of homes?
Never mind. It’s like hitting my head against a brick wall. I won’t be back here. Mayor, you “allow” us to comment here, but you never change your opinion, or say you’ll look into something, or help anyone.
Thanks for your reply. How would we be able to publicly track the monthly operating expenses vs the fees collected?
Why doesn’t the city recover salvage cost on deposited metal , copper , etc. at the recycling center instead of paying Advance or whoever to pick it up at the recycling center and the recyclables picked up at houses .,
Waukesha sorts and collects money for cans , aluminum ,etc. to off set the cost of recycling .
I guess it easier to just pass the costs on to the taxpayers !
Did you know that the Street Dept picks up the garbage and recyclables(aluminum cans and plastic bottles at LION FEST and it all goes in the Garbage/ Trash ( Do as I say not as I (city) do ) .