The Gate Fee Dilemma

Landfills in developing countries face a massive infrastructure gap, and one of the key reasons? Low or nonexistent gate fees. 

The Problem
Gate fees—charges for dumping waste at a landfill—are a crucial source of funding for modernizing landfill infrastructure, improving waste treatment, and reducing methane emissions. However, in many regions, these fees are too low to support effective waste management, leading to poor gas capture systems, leachate pollution, and dangerous open dumping practices.

The Challenge of Raising Gate Fees
On paper, increasing gate fees seems like a logical solution. But waste follows the path of least resistance. If proper policies and enforcement aren’t in place, higher gate fees don’t solve the problem—they just move it elsewhere. Instead of being properly disposed of, waste might:

• Be illegally dumped in open fields, rivers, or roadsides
• Get burned, releasing toxic emissions into the air
• End up in informal or unregulated waste sites

A Smarter Approach
For gate fees to work, they must be part of a larger strategy:

• Incentives for recycling & waste separation
• Stronger enforcement & penalties for illegal dumping
• Investment in landfill gas capture & circular economy solutions
• Public-private partnerships to fund infrastructure upgrades

At Hydryx, we believe landfill gas isn’t a liability—it’s an opportunity. By capturing methane emissions and turning them into energy, we’re showing that waste sites can be part of the solution to climate change, not just part of the problem.

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