What Trash Service Really Costs in Colorado Springs (2026)

If you’ve tried to price trash pickup in Colorado Springs, you’ve hit the wall already: almost no hauler publishes a rate — Apex is the lone exception, posting zone rates on its Infinite Disposal brand page ($23.95/month south of Interquest, $27.95 north, early 2026). Every other website funnels you to a quote form or a phone call. That’s not an accident, and it’s not because pricing is complicated. Here’s how the market actually works, the few real numbers that exist, and how to read a quote without getting surprised on bill two.

Why nobody publishes a price

Colorado Springs has no city trash service and no franchise system. City code §6.4.103 makes disposal the occupant’s responsibility, so every household hires a private hauler on the open market — and there’s no hauler licensing or rate regulation (a 2022 city council exploration of licensing went nowhere).

With no published rates and no regulator, haulers price by address, route density, and how the phone call goes. Two neighbors on the same street can pay meaningfully different amounts for identical service. Unpublished pricing is the business model.

The real numbers that do exist

Beyond Apex’s published zone rates, there are two solid public benchmarks in the region, and both are negotiated group rates:

The Manitou Springs contract

Manitou Springs negotiated a municipal contract with Republic Services for 2025–26: $66.01 per quarter for trash-only (96-gallon cart) and $97.28 per quarter with recycling — that’s $22.00/month and $32.43/month. Seniors get an $8.26/quarter discount, and annual increases are capped at 5%.

That’s your floor, not your quote. It’s a city-negotiated bulk rate; open-market quotes in Colorado Springs run higher.

The Pinecliff HOA deal

Pinecliff’s voluntary neighborhood trash program (with Republic) runs $11.50/month for trash plus $7.25/month for recycling — which the HOA itself describes as roughly half of typical individual rates. Work backwards from that and individual trash service lands somewhere in the low-to-mid $20s per month before fees. Treat that as an estimate, because it is one: no hauler has published a 2025–26 base rate, and any specific number you see online — including here — is an estimate until you confirm it by phone.

The fee stack: where quotes go to die

The base rate is where your price starts, not where it ends. The national haulers in particular layer on surcharges that don’t show up in the quoted number:

• Waste Connections documents a floating fuel & material surcharge, an environmental & regulatory charge, an admin/invoice fee, and a delivery fee on your first bill. Stacked, these can add 20–35% on top of base. As of mid-2026 there’s a pending class action over the fuel surcharge, and the service agreement includes binding arbitration.
• Republic Services adds an environmental recovery fee (around 18%), a fuel recovery fee, and an admin fee. BBB complaint volume is heavy on rate hikes that show up without notice.
• WM is the odd one out: since April 2023 it folds environmental charges into the residential base rate, so WM quotes are closer to all-in. The quoted number can look higher next to a stripped-down base rate, but it’s closer to what you’ll actually pay.

The smaller haulers are more transparent about the small stuff. SOCO Waste publishes its fee schedule: $1.50 per extra bag beyond the two included, $45 return trip, $35 NSF, $25 reactivation, $3 for a paper statement. Apex charges $10/month for optional cart roll-out service.

Quarterly vs. monthly: don’t compare the wrong numbers

Some haulers bill quarterly — Apex does, and the Manitou contract is quoted quarterly. A “$75 bill” from one company and a “$28 bill” from another aren’t comparable until you put both on the same clock. Divide quarterly numbers by three, and make sure both quotes cover the same thing: cart size, extra-bag allowance, and whether recycling is included.

This is the single most common way people misjudge a quote, in both directions.

Fewer companies to call than you think

The market consolidated hard between 2023 and 2026: Carefree Disposal and Infinite Disposal are now Apex Waste Solutions, GFL’s Colorado business went to Republic Services, and HBS Trash sold its residential routes to WM in June 2026. If your bill still carries an old name, your account already belongs to someone new — and legacy pricing isn’t guaranteed to survive the transfer.

For a typical house, you’re realistically choosing among five: Waste Connections, Republic, WM, Apex, and SOCO. You can see which ones serve your address by entering your ZIP in the comparison tool on our homepage.

How to read a quote

When you get someone on the phone, ask these before you say yes:

1. “What’s the total on my first bill, and the total on a normal bill after that?” This forces delivery fees, cart fees, and surcharges into the open.
2. “Is that monthly or quarterly?” Get everything monthly.
3. “Which charges float?” Fuel surcharges move month to month; base rates shouldn’t.
4. “How often do rates go up, and by how much?” Manitou negotiated a 5% cap. You probably won’t get one, but the answer tells you a lot.
5. “Is there a contract or arbitration clause?” Apex advertises no long-term contract; Waste Connections’ agreement includes binding arbitration.
6. “What does recycling cost?” Colorado’s producer-responsibility law (HB22-1355) starts rolling out in 2026, with producers funding curbside recycling at no cost to residents. SOCO already lists recycling at $0 under the state program. Don’t accept a big recycling add-on without asking about it.
7. Ask about promos. Apex has run first-month-free offers; SOCO has published promo codes. First-year pricing is often negotiable — this is an open market.

One local wrinkle: if you live west of I-25, plan on a bear-resistant cart. SOCO and Waste Connections both require them there, and it can affect the price.

FAQ

What does trash service cost in Colorado Springs?

Only Apex publishes rates, so there’s no verified market-wide average. Verified customer reports (September 2026) cluster around $33/month for SOCO with recycling and $45–59/month billed at Waste Connections and Republic — with retention offers near $26/month for customers who push back. The best public benchmark is the Manitou Springs contract with Republic: $22/month trash-only, $32.43/month with recycling — a negotiated municipal rate that open-market quotes exceed. Individual estimates land in the low-to-mid $20s monthly before surcharges, but every non-Manitou number is an estimate until you get quotes for your address.

Why doesn’t Colorado Springs have city trash pickup?

City code makes disposal each occupant’s responsibility, and there’s no franchise or hauler-licensing system. A 2022 council look at licensing went nowhere, and the city’s current waste plan (WastelessCOS) is focused on education, not districting.

Why is my bill higher than the price I was quoted?

Surcharges. National haulers add fuel, environmental, and admin fees on top of base rates — they can stack to 20–35% extra at Waste Connections, and Republic’s environmental recovery fee alone runs roughly 18% — plus a delivery fee on the first bill. Always ask for the all-in total.

Is curbside recycling free now in Colorado?

It’s headed that way. Under HB22-1355, producers fund curbside recycling starting in 2026, and SOCO already shows recycling at $0 under the state program. Ask any hauler quoting a recycling add-on how the state program affects it.