East Brunswick officials will take time to further review the idea of cutting trash pickup to only once per week.
Mayor David Stahl had proposed the change in order to save the town nearly $1.9 million over five years, a 20 percent reduction in solid waste costs. However, after hearing input from many residents, Stahl said the town may look at other options.
Stahl said the town could solicit new bids for two different arrangements. One would include twice-a-week pickup from Memorial Day to Labor Day, with once-aweek collection the rest of the year. The other would involve once-weekly pickup for single-family homes, and twice-weekly pickup only for condominium and townhouse developments that do not have the capacity to hold garbage for more than a few days at a time.
Since Stahl proposed the once-weekly trash collection last month, many residents have stated their opposition to the idea. Concerns have included the smells that will build up as garbage accumulates in hot weather, and the cost that residents would face if they have to buy larger containers to accommodate more trash, perhaps canceling out the savings that residents receive in tax dollars.
But Stahl has not changed his mind about the benefits of once-a-week collection. Stahl maintains that limiting trash pickup, even with the noted exceptions, would provide a significant savings to East Brunswick at a time when it is crucial to cut costs. Also, even if the township were to pick up trash twice per week at condominium and townhouse developments, those communities would have to reimburse the town for the associated costs.
While township officials previously stated that East Brunswick was one of only four towns in Middlesex County that still collects trash twice per week, that figure was found to be incorrect. A resident told Stahl that he contacted 23 of the county’s 25 towns and found that most still have twice-weekly pickup. Only 10 have gone to once a week, the resident reported. Stahl said that even if the township’s figure was off, it does not change his point of view. Towns with once-weekly pickup, he said, have not suffered any negative repercussions. He has argued that the limited pickup not only saves money, but increases recycling, which is less expensive than solid waste.
During Monday’s Township Council meeting, some residents disagreed with Stahl’s optimism, saying that limited pickup would be a real burden on property owners, and that the accumulated garbage will bring more vermin and maggots.
One resident, Ira Temin, thanked township officials for postponing their vote on the issue. The item could have been added to Monday’s agenda for a vote, but officials chose not to do so. Temin urged the mayor and council to look at the options that Stahl presented and to keep in mind that the second garbage pickup each week is very important to a lot of residents.
Another resident, Robert Lennon, said the savings per household is minimal.
“To me it hardly seems worth it,” he said.
Stahl said that most budget cuts, when viewed by themselves in terms of dollars per household, seem minimal. But cutting garbage pickup actually represents a very large savings, to the tune of about $360,000 per year.
“It’s huge,” he said.
Lennon said he was concerned about garbage only being picked up once a week during the summer, noting that when he forgets to put his trash out just once, it sits and draws bugs as the week goes on.
The township previously solicited bids for the once-a-week pickup, and the lowest responsible bidder was determined to its current trash collector, Central Jersey Waste & Recycling. If the council accepted the bid, the new service would begin on March 30.
Stahl said the town has asked the two bidding contractors to wait another 30 days while township officials decide how they want to proceed. If the council does not want to accept the previous once-a-week arrangement, it can solicit bids for the amended ideas.
One contractor has agreed to hold its bid, while the town is awaiting word on the other, Stahl said Monday.