New Recycling Plan Headed to Montville

The Township Committee introduced a motion at its meeting Tuesday night for a new solid waste collection plan that would save the township about $215,000 and increase recycling services.

The new collection bid, submitted by Suburban Waste, is for a two-year service contract that includes services similar to what the township currently has. Under the new contract, trash would still be collected twice a week, with bulk and vegetative waste being collected once a week. However, instead of the current dual-stream recycling collection, the township would switch to a single-stream system.

According to Township Administrator Frank Bastone, a single-stream system eliminates the need to separate paper from plastic and glass goods. The new recycling plan would allow residents to put all recyclable materials into one can for weekly collection.

Committeewoman Deborah Nielson was in favor of the change, saying she hoped the adjustment would increase the township's recycling rate, which is low compared to other municipalities in the county.

"In terms of the 39 Morris County municipality recycling, our rank is 37," she said. "There is a lot of improvement that can be done in this area. There are 36 other municipalities doing a better job than we are, for whatever reason. We should challenge the community to embrace recycling to a higher degree."

The initial plan suggested to the committee featured the current dual-stream system and would have saved the township roughly $260,000. Nielson said the money spent on the new recycling system could be made up in other ways.

"Trash collection is paid by tonnage," she said. "In 2009, our fee was roughly $770,000. The township's recycling rate is 24.8 percent. If we can get a 10 percent increase in recycling, that will cause a reduction in tipping fees. That would save tax dollars."

The township considered other plans, including a move to once-a-week collection or hybrid collection, but ruled them out due to the physical complications that would be presented to the township's condo associations in dealing with additional garbage pile-up.

Bastone said the decision to use a two-year contract was established to give the condos time to adjust to the possibility of reduced trash collection in the future.

"[We accept this plan] with an edict that, during the contract period, the condos make arrangements to handle a once-a-week or seasonal pickup," he said.

Committeeman Don Kostka said the township could have saved more money selecting a different collection plan, but that the added burden on the condos, which contain roughly 20 percent of the township's population, would be too great.

"The condos don't have enough space [to hold extra trash]," he said. "The main issue is, where are they going to put the trash? We're taking this approach. Let's give the condos enough time to make changes then revisit it two years down the road."

According to Allen Pressman, president of Montville Chase condos, once-a-week trash collection would be an issue for the condos in its current state. He said that the condos put trash into one fixed dumpster and that space is already an issue.

"This could be a major, major problem," he said. "We have no more room, it's already piled to the top. Yes, we can make the change, but let's give the condos enough time to make the change."

Pressman was in favor of the simplification of the recycling collection.

"If we can recycle better, it might help us with money," he said.

Steve Samitt, president of Changebridge at Montville, expressed similar concerns about a reduction in trash collection, but supported the single-stream plan.

"I've gotten feedback from the [condo] coalition, and the single stream would really be better," he said. "It would be a lot easier to know each week whatever you put out with your recyclables would go."

Mayor Jim Sandham expects that the town will react positively to the new recycling policy.

"The councilwoman [Nielson] made a good comment that she thinks recycling will improve," he said. "Hopefully, it'll be a great benefit for everybody."

The committee expressed its intent to add this motion to its joint meeting with the Board of Education on Oct. 5, with hopes of developing a plan for educating the public on the proposed recycling change.