Township residents will be offered the option to “recycle” their food waste, thanks to Township Council’s decision to award a contract for that service to Central Jersey Waste and Recycling Inc.
By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Township residents will be offered the option to “recycle” their food waste, thanks to Township Council’s decision to award a contract for that service to Central Jersey Waste and Recycling Inc. on Tuesday night.
That option is one of several contained in a bid for curbside municipal trash collection that was awarded to the company last month. The council held off on awarding the bid for the food waste recycling option, pending a public hearing on an amendment to Mercer County’s solid waste management plan.
The amendment, which was adopted by Mercer County, allows Trenton Biogas LLC to accept and process up to 450 tons of food waste daily at a county owned property on Lamberton Road. But the plant, which was intended to process sludge, will not be operational for at least six or eight months, or possibly two years, Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said.
Because of the delay, the council opted to award the contract to Central Jersey Waste and Recycling. It will transport the food waste to a site in Delaware for composting. But at least 300 households must sign up — at a cost of $17 per month — before the voluntary program can be implemented. Participating households would put their food waste in a separate container to be picked up by the hauler.
If the minimum 300 households sign up for the program, it could save about $19,000 in trash collection fees over the life of the five-year contract, Mr. Krawczun said. That’s because there would be less trash going into the landfill.
Residents who are interested in signing up for the program can contact the Lawrence Township Department of Public Works at 609-587-1894, Mr. Krawczun said. The office is open weekdays, between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Township resident Chris Ahlers, who belongs to Sustainable Lawrence, encouraged Township Council to promote the food waste recycling program. He said the nonprofit group would uses its resources, such as its website and press releases — to publicize the program.
Mr. Krawczun also sought to clarify details in published reports in a daily newspaper that claimed Lawrence would benefit financially from Trenton Biogas LLC’s plan to purchase the Mercer County owned facility on Lamberton Road.
It was reported that Trenton and Hamilton, Ewing and Lawrence townships would receive $400,000 per year for the first two years from Trenton Biogas after it purchases the property on Duck Island, and $175,000 annually for the next eight years.
Actually, Trenton and Hamilton, plus the Ewing Lawrence Sewerage Authority, would receive the money, Mr. Krawczun said. The municipalities and the sewerage authority borrowed money to build the sludge facility, but it was never completed. The bonds are due to be paid off in 2015, and the money will be used to pay off the debt.
Once the debt is paid off, the money would go directly to the municipalities and to the sewerage authority. Lawrence Township was never in line to pay the debt, nor to receive money now that the bond will be paid off, Mr. Krawczun said. The Ewing-Lawrence Sewerage Authority borrowed the money — not Lawrence or Ewing townships.
However, it may help Lawrence and Ewing townships if the Ewing-Lawrence Sewerage Authority receives the money, Mr. Krawczun said. The payments would be additional revenue, and that could mean stabilizing the sewer fees charged to property owners.

