[03/08/01] Warren County residential customers of Waste Management outside Vicksburg will see higher bills when the company mails out quarterly statements in April.

Letters went out to the company’s 2,500 county customers announcing rates for residential waste collection will be rising by $3 per month, said Roy Hoben, the company’s local manager.

That means the rates that had been $15.50 per month will now be $18.50. The company mails out bills every calendar quarter, meaning that the bills will be $55.50 per quarter instead of $46.50.

“It’s because of fuel, the Consumer Price Index, landfill costs, all of that,” Hoben said, adding that the cost of doing business and providing the services has risen.

“It has gone up tremendously,” Hoben said.

The increase does not affect Waste Management’s business in the City of Vicksburg. Those costs are handled through contracts that have already been put in place. City residents pay $11.25 per month on their water, gas and sewer bills for twice-weekly pickups. Commercial locations in the city contract separately for waste services.