Proposal: $75 for six months of service, and $150 for a year
By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
WEST AMWELL — The Township Committee is mulling the establishment of a new fee for garbage collection that would cost residents $75 for six months of service, and $150 for a year.
The move is one way the township is trying to trim costs in a tough economy, according to Mayor William Corboy. The $75 fee is “nominal,” the mayor said, and will not cover the township’s $93,000 per year cost for garbage removal by Raritan Valley Disposal.
Township residents drop off their garbage at the township’s trash transfer site on the grounds of the municipal building, and Raritan Valley hauls it away. That arrangement will not change.
The proposed fee would give people who use the service an opportunity to continue to do so, while removing the tax burden for the service from those who do not use it, Mayor Corboy said.
”We have about 400 people using this service. However the service is open to all township residents,” Committeeman Thomas Molnar said. “We are asking the users of this service to pay for it. The new fee is well below the fee that a private hauler will charge.”
The township needs to reduce costs and provide for a buildup of cash reserves, of which there is currently none, according to the mayor. “The township has a responsibility to have a better way to improve the capital budget,” he said.
Mr. Molnar said if the new fee is approved, the program would be re-evaluated after six months.
The committee will hold a public hearing on the proposed fee at its next meeting, March 4 at 7 p.m., at the municipal building, 150 Rocktown-Lambertville Road.
”Residents will be issued a garbage permit when they pay for this service,” Mr. Molnar said. “If they do not have the permit, they will not be able to dispose of their trash at our facility. We realize that we may have a few wrinkles to iron out, but we also anticipate having this process run smoothly in the long run.”
The township’s collection of recyclable materials will continue at no cost to residents.
Last year, West Amwell began sharing Lambertville’s new recycling truck. Each community has reaped some extra money by selling their recyclables to Colgate Paper in New Brunswick.
”The amount of money that we save by not having to pay to get rid of our recycling and the amount of money we now get for our recycling tonnage is a fraction of what the garbage contract is,” Mr. Molnar said.
Mayor Corboy said, “The recycling fee is variable, sometimes we get paid $20 a ton, sometimes $50 a ton. Lately it has been $20 a ton. This is a fee that can’t be counted on. The township always has to budget ahead for expenses.”

