MANALAPAN — For residents of Manalapan who do not like to bag the leaves that cover their lawn each fall, a municipal solution could be on the way.
At theApril 11 meeting of the Township Committee, Committeeman Ryan Green asked his fellow members of the governing body to consider offering a program in which residents would pay a fee for the right to rake their leaves to the curb and have the unbagged leaves picked up by a contractor who would be hired by the town.
At the present time, residents who want their leaves to be picked up by the township must put the leaves in biodegradable compost bags and place the bags at the curb. The cost of that service is included in a resident’s municipal taxes.
Green said he has been approached by residents who have asked him why they are not permitted to just rake the leaves to the curb and have them picked up by the township. He said the residents have told him that is what is done in some towns.
The committeeman said it would be cost prohibitive for the township to provide that service. He said special vacuum trucks would have to be purchased and personnel to operate the trucks would have to be hired in order for the municipality to provide the service.
As an alternative to having Manalapan provide that specific service, Green proposed giving residents the chance to pay a fee, which the township would use to hire a private company that would go around to the participating homes and collect the unbagged leaves that had been placed at the curb.
“Like trash pickup, there is no reason why we can’t work with a landscaping company to treat leaves in a similar manner. A public-private partnership like this is more cost-effective and can work for our residents,” Green told the committee and members of the public.
Residents who choose not to pay the fee for unbagged curbside leaf pickup would still be able to place their leaves in biodegradable compost bags and have them collected by the township at no extra cost, he said.
Green said leaf pickup is regulated by the state Department of Environmental Protection and he said curbside leaf pickup is permitted. In order to implement the proposed program, the committee would have to amend its current leaf pickup ordinance.
Manalapan’s storm water management plan requires that leaves by picked up within seven days. Green is proposing that a vacuum truck be in Manalapan one day a week during leaf season to comply with that regulation. The matter is expected to be discussed at a future meeting of the governing body.
— Contact Mark Rosman at [email protected]