The borough commissioners discussed changes at a recent meeting to residential trash collection in a bid to save money.
Suggested changes include eliminating move-out days, reducing the number of bulk pickup days and switching to different trash cans.
Under current rules, when someone sells a house, the borough relaxes certain trash regulations – like a limit of six items that weigh more than 50 pounds – to assist the seller in moving out. That assistance will be eliminated under the proposed changes.
Borough administrator Sharon McCullough suggested campaign with real estate agents and landlords to let residents know.
The borough now also picks up bulk items once a week for each resident, but that service will be reduced to once a month, with allowance of only two bulk items instead of six. Mayor Dave Siedell said the switch to monthly pickup will cut down on opportunities for scrappers to take bulk items.
“My hope is, with a consistent bulk day, week, that scrappers don’t come through all the time,” he elaborated. “They come through on the week we do bulk, like they do in other towns. And every item they take, is an item we don’t pay for.”
McCullough noted that because people can currently throw out bulk items any week, it slows down trash collection, thus the need for switching to monthly pickups.
“And that’s part of the problem that they’re having, is it slows them down loading the trucks and stuff also,” she explained. “Because that way they know one week of the month they come in with two big trucks, because that’s when they’re going to have bulk.”
McCullough said the borough plans to buy 4,600 new trash cans at a cost of between $300,000 and $500,000. The purchase will be some combination of 64- and 96-gallon receptacles with metal bars and lids that open to a truck.
Changes to the trash pickup won’t have an impact on recycling. Meanwhile, Commissioner Itir Cole suggested a “borough-wide ‘comms’ campaign to have people reduce their trash.”
McCullough said when borough trash services went out to bid in 2025, their cost had increased by about 230%. The borough was able to get a trash provider for less – with only one trash truck – for an increase of 50% instead of 230%. She also attributed higher costs to increasing gas prices.
“It’s the market,” she pointed out. “Here’s the other problem: gas is more expensive. So our road program came in higher. We had to cut one of the roads out. Everything we go out to bid for, that’s going to change. Any services we’re getting is going to change that.”
The borough has budgeted an increase of $25,000 to account for gas prices, from $150,000 to $175,000.
The proposed changes to trash pickup will have a first reading at the next commissioners meeting on Tuesday.
