Waste management fees
Collection fees
When waste management is arranged by Salpakierto the collection services are arranged via a public tendering process and fees are determined in the decision on rates approved by the Lahti Region Waste Management Committee. See prices here (in Finnish).
Also, fees for regional collection points are determined in the decision on rates approved by the Lahti Region Waste Management Committee. Regional collection points are only available in areas where the municipality is responsible for waste management.
The rates apply to waste for which the municipality is responsible for arranging collection and waste for which the municipality is secondarily responsible for arranging collection. The rates are applicable in the municipalities governed and decided by the Lahti Region Waste Management Committee. The rates do not pertain to the fees charged by private companies when the property owner arranges waste collection.
In areas where property owners are responsible for organising mixed waste management, fees for waste collection are agreed with the waste collection company. You can contact any waste collection company in your municipality for an offer to find the best price. The rates set by the waste management authority do not pertain to the fees charged by private companies when the property owner arranges waste collection.
Regional mixed waste collection points are available in areas with jointly tendered and Salpakierto-organized waste transport in Kärkölä, Orimattila’s Artjärvi, and the sparsely populated areas of Heinola.
Waste collection should primarily be arranged with a property-specific waste bin or a shared waste bin. You may only join as a user of a regional collection point if your property or property-specific waste bin is inaccessible by road, or if the road is in poor condition and cannot support the weight of a waste truck.
The regional collection point charge is charged per household.
The charge applies to only one apartment if the same user has several apartments in the same building. The charge applies to only one residential building if the same user has several residential buildings in the same yard. For housing and real estate companies, the charge is charged according to the number of apartments in the company.
The charge category for the regional collection point is determined by the actual use of the building:
- Permanent residence
- Holiday residence
The regional collection point charge is determined for one calendar year at a time. The person responsible for paying the charge is the holder of the apartment or holiday residence at the time of invoicing.
If the holder of the apartment or holiday residence agrees with Salpakierto to switch from the regional collection point service to a property-specific waste bin emptying service, the paid annual fee for the collection point will be refunded for the remainder of the year, starting from the following month.
The fee for demolished buildings ends at the end of the year in which the building is removed from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s building and apartment register. If the fee has been charged based on incorrect information in the register, the liable person must request correction of the errors from the municipality. Salpakierto will remove the fee for the current year at the customer’s request, without appeal to the waste management authority, once the information has been corrected in the register.
Municipal waste charge
The municipal waste charge constitutes a legally enforceable liability determined by the municipal waste management authority pursuant to the Finnish Waste Act (646/2011, Chapter 9, Waste management charges). In the area served by Salpakierto, the charge was implemented on 1 July 2008.
This charge is used to finance the receiving and handling of recyclable household waste for which no fee is charged. In addition, the charge is used to cover the costs of waste reception stations, the Roinaralli collection point, the provision of advice on waste, the operations of the waste management authority (Lahti Region Waste Management Committee/ Lahti Region Waste Management Authority) and aftercare for decommissioned landfills.
The charge is determined for residential apartments and holiday residential buildings. The charge is per household. The charge applies to only one residential apartment if the same user has access to multiple residential apartments in the same building. The charge applies to only one residential building if the same user has access to multiple residential buildings that form a single yard area. The charge is charged regardless of whether the residential apartment or holiday residential building is in use or vacant. Housing and real estate companies are charged according to the number of residential apartments in the company.
Municipal waste charge
- Class 1: EUR 37.85 per household or building per year including applicable VAT
- Class 2: EUR 24.35 per household or building per year including applicable VAT
The payment class is determined on the basis of the classification of buildings in the building register of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
- Class 1: Residential apartments in residential buildings and other buildings (Building Classification 2018: 01, 03-19
- Class 2: Holiday residential buildings (Building Classification 2018: 02)
The charge category is determined at the time of billing. The charge is set for one calendar year at a time.
The person liable to pay the charge is the one who owns the apartment at the time of billing. However, if someone other than the property owner has ordered waste management services for the property, the liability to pay rests with the user of the waste management services registered in Salpakierto Ltd`s customer register.
The invoice is sent once a year either as a paper or electronic invoice. An agreement on an e-invoice can be made via an online bank. Direct debit agreements must be made with your bank.
In housing companies, a joint invoice for all the households in the building is sent to the building manager, who then invoices the owners for their share of the fee directly or as part of the maintenance fee, in accordance with the housing company’s articles of association.
For new buildings, the liability to pay the municipal waste charge for apartments begins the year after the building has been reported as completed in the building and apartment register.
For demolished apartments, the charge ends at the end of the year in which the building is removed from the building and apartment register.
If the charge has been charged based on incorrect building or apartment information in the building and apartment register, the liable party must request correction of the errors from the municipality. Salpakierto Oy will remove the fee for the current year at the customer’s request, without appeal to the waste management authority, once the information has been corrected in the building and apartment register.
Applications for changes
You can apply for exemption from the municipal waste charge (exemption from the waste management responsibility) if your property is not fit for human habitation or the property has been demolished or otherwise destroyed. When applying, you must provide proof that the apartment is unusable or that the building has been demolished.
The person liable for the charge has the right to submit a complaint in writing to the Lahti Region Waste Management Committee within 14 days of receiving the invoice. The municipal waste charge must be paid by the due date, even if an application for changes to it has been submitted (Chapter 9 of the Waste Act 646/2011).
Applications for exemption from the charge must be submitted to the Lahti Region Waste Management Authority:
- online at: lahti.fi/jatehuoltoviranomainen -> waste management services and forms -> application for exemption from the municipal waste charge
- paper applications: municipal service points
Changes in information such as invoicing details, the owner of the property or the number of households must be submitted to the customer service.
Excess payments
A general practice is in use for excess payments made by customers. Excess payments of more than €16 are paid into an account specified by the customer. If the customer has any overdue unpaid invoices, the excess payment is used to cover these. If the customer who made the excess payment receives regular invoices and the excess payment is moderate in relation to the invoiced amount, the excess amount can be reduced from the next invoice. An excess payment of less than €16 is only reimbursed upon specific request by the customer. This practice applies to fees charged by Salpakierto Oy, such as municipal waste charges and fees charged for waste collection.