King County will begin charging higher fees for garbage disposal at its transfer stations — including the one on Vashon — on Jan. 1, when the effective rate goes from $95 to $109 a ton.

The new fee applies to county residents who pay for curbside collection service or use a county transfer station and live outside of Seattle and Milton, which have their own solid waste departments. This is the second increase in a dozen years, according to the county, where disposal fees remain lower than those in Seattle, Tacoma and Pierce County.

The fee increase will cover rising operating costs and help pay for modernizing the 1960s-era network of transfer stations operated by the county’s Solid Waste Division, according to the county. An analysis of the county’s solid waste transfer system showed that the aging network needed a major overhaul.

Increased fees will also help to cover the division’s rising costs, stemming from increased fuel, equipment, labor and maintenance costs, the county said.

For more information, visit the Solid Waste Division’s website.