Top: Horizontal unloading KEITH WALKING FLOOR^® trailer for hauling organics. Photo courtesy of KEITH Manufacturing

As the Organics Recycling Authority for the past 62 years, BioCycle frequently receives questions from readers that we pass on to our cadre of seasoned professionals to answer. Recently, this question came in via email, which we passed on to Craig Coker, BioCycle’s Senior Editor and owner of Coker Composting & Consulting.

BioCycle Reader: I am looking for data on the costs for hauling organics from a community as opposed to keeping the material locally. I would like to identify potential cost savings.

Craig Coker: If you know the hourly cost of the truck (labor + machine rate), multiply by travel time (both ways). For example, it costs one of my clients $75/hour for his truck driver and truck. So let’s assume the distance is 75 miles and it takes 2 hours each way (including loading/unloading time). So $75/hour x 2 hrs out x 2 hrs back = $300/load.

You can also use a unit factor like $4.50/loaded (e.g. one-way) mile, so for a 75-mile haul, it would be 75 miles x $4.50/loaded mile = $337.50/load.