METUCHEN — When officials received negative feedback about a change in borough services, they did not let the grass grow under their feet before addressing it.
Borough Council President Ronald Grayzel announced at the April 7 council meeting that officials would hold off on their plan to discontinue the pickup of grass clippings.
“We had recently announced that the … Public Works Department would stop picking up grass clippings this year,” he said. “On behalf of the mayor and council, I am advising the public … that we are restoring the service this year and will pick up grass clippings in the usual and customary manner.”
The earlier decision to cease the pickup came as a result of changes in the recycling market that have the borough paying to dispose of recyclable materials instead of being paid for the materials, as was the case in previous years. Borough Administrator Jennifer Maier said at a previous meeting that Metuchen used to receive $20,000 annually for its recyclables, but it would now have to pay that much to get rid of the materials.
“This created an immediate need to deal with this new financial burden in what we know to be a very, very tight budget year,” Grayzel said.
Aside from cracking down on nonresidents bringing recyclables to town and decreasing the hours of the borough’s recycling center, officials decided to stop grass-clippings pickup as of May 1. They would instead ask residents to mulch or compost the grass — processes that Maier said are more environmentally sound solutions.
The pickup and disposal of grass clippings alone costs the borough close to $52,000 annually between labor and disposal, according to Maier.
Some residents voiced displeasure with the proposed discontinuation.
“As we began public discussion of the issue, it became readily apparent that termination of the service would require many of us to change the way we cut and dispose of the grass,” Grayzel said. “One alternate method — composting — would require public education that the borough must provide.
“There is simply not enough time for residents to do what has to be done so close to the spring cleanup and grass-cutting season to adapt to a sudden cessation of the service.”
Grayzel said officials would reconsider the decision well in advance of next spring. They will also seek to educate the public on mulching and composting, and encourage residents to voluntarily begin the alternate means of disposal.
A representative of Rutgers University gave a seminar on composting and mulching in the borough earlier this month, and Councilwoman Dorothy Rasmussen said more educational sessions would be forthcoming.
“If anybody would like to take the plunge and start mulching their grass … please put an announcement or some indication of how you’re doing with it on the [Metuchen] Facebook page,” she said. “This way, before next year’s initiation of it, if people are excited about it and feel like it’s working out much better than they ever thought … it’ll help us during the year of coming up with new education programs that will help the public.”