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LL-Costs rising for organic food waste recycling program

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Households that take part in the optional organic waste recycling program offered by Lawrence Township’s trash hauler can expect to pay twice as much every month for the service, according to township officials.

The monthly fee is rising from $17 per month to $38.50 per month – billed quarterly – for the optional program, under a contract awarded to Central Jersey Waste & Recycling Inc., by Lawrence Township Council last month.

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The Lawrence Township Council awarded a one-year contract to the trash hauler for $791,1771.71, with the option to renew that took effect Dec. 1. The contract can be renewed for four years, through Nov. 30, 2023. The organic waste recycling collection program is an option in the contract.

Of the 12,000 households in Lawrence Township, approximately 200 households have made arrangements with the trash hauler to enroll in the organic waste recycling collection program, Municipal Manager Kevin Nerwinski said.

Those 200-plus households have been notified of the price increase, along with a new contract, Nerwinski said. They have the ability to “opt out” of the program, he said.

The price more than doubled because of disposal issues associated with organic waste, Nerwinski said. There are two locations in Pennsylvania where it can be dropped off, but there are times when the hauler has been told to turn around and leave because there is no room, he said.

However, the Mercer County Improvement Authority is planning to develop an organic waste disposal site on Duck Island, Nerwinski said. Duck Island is a wetlands area in Hamilton Township, bordering the Delaware River.

“Duck Island will be a game-changer for organic waste disposal. I think if the numbers (of participants) increase, the price will come down,” Nerwinski said, adding that officials hope to have the Duck Island organic waste disposal facility, which is located in Hamilton, in operation by 2020.

Mayor Christopher Bobbitt said that “it pains me” to see the price increase. He said his household is among the 200-plus households that participate in the curbside organic waste recycling collection program.

Township Councilwoman Cathleen Lewis said she was saddened that the program had not expanded since its inception in 2015. “It would be nice to figure out a way to encourage more people to sign up,” she said.

The curbside organic waste recycling program is open to households that have curbside trash pickup. Residents who live in apartment or townhouse developments and who put their household trash in a Dumpster are not eligible for the program.

The curbside organic waste recycling program collects food waste as well as paper plates, tea bags, houseplants, fruits, nuts, vegetables, spoiled or expired food, pizza boxes and paper take-out containers.

Households that take part in the program keep a small container in the kitchen, and dump food scraps and other organic recyclable material into it. The contents are placed in a small green container, similar to the blue trash buckets issued by Lawrence Township.

Once a week, Central Jersey Waste & Recycling sends a truck to empty the green containers.

There are financial benefits to the township. Central Jersey Waste & Recycling is paid to collect the trash in the blue buckets. The trash trucks go to a waste transfer station in Ewing Township, where they are weighed by the Mercer County Improvement Authority.

The Mercer County Improvement Authority charges a fee to Lawrence Township on a tonnage basis to have it hauled away to a landfill. If the trash trucks weigh less because there is less in them, it will cost Lawrence Township less money for disposal costs.

 

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