Waste Management dispute affects many downtown businesses as well.
By: Jennifer Potash
Princeton Borough residents arriving home Monday evening probably happened upon an unwelcome sight their garbage containers still at the curb full of trash.
The borough’s trash hauler, Waste Management, is in the middle of a labor dispute with its Teamsters union members, who rejected a contract offer from the hauler on Sunday and went on strike Monday.
Waste Management, based in Trenton, brought in replacement workers who didn’t get very far on the routes Monday, said Princeton Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi.
Also, some confrontations between union members and the replacement workers in Hamilton Township on Monday forced Waste Management to pull the vehicles from the borough, Mr. Bruschi said.
"They’re going to regroup and try again tomorrow," Mr. Bruschi said.
The borough, through its contract, provides residential garbage pickup. Township homeowners contract privately with haulers, including Waste Management, for garbage pickup. Downtown businesses and other commercial entities likewise make their own arrangements.
The borough is asking business owners in the central business district that use Waste Management not to put garbage out at the curb without checking first with the company on the pickup schedule, Mr. Bruschi said.
"We certainly don’t want a situation where garbage piling up could become a health hazard," he said.
The Borough Clerk’s Office has a short list of alternative haulers downtown businesses owners could contact for individual garbage service.
Public Works Department employees will fan out in the borough tomorrow to direct the Waste Management trash collectors to the residential routes, Mr. Bruschi said.
There is no crisis yet, Mr. Bruschi said.
"It’s like missing pickup for a holiday," he said. Additional delays in trash pickup could lead to problems for residents, Mr. Bruschi said.
"If it ends up being all week, that could pose a significant storage issue for people," Mr. Bruschi said.
Unseasonably warm temperatures nearing 60 degree predicted for later in the week might aggravate the situation, Mr. Bruschi said.
Recycling pickup was not affected by the garbage strike. The borough has recycling pickup with the Mercer County Improvement Authority, which contracts with Central Jersey Waste and Recycling.

