PLUMSTED TOWNSHIP

The Committee met on January 25, 2011 to review the Waste Management bid proposal.  Deputy Mayor Dave Leutwyler, Township Committee liaison Steven Reed and Ernie Kuhlwein from the Ocean County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling attended this meeting.   Based on a review of the service options included in the RFP, the Committee analyzed in detail two options. These were: the collection of solid waste on a one time versus a two time per week schedule, bulky waste collection one time per month and collection of recyclable materials two times per month. A budget for each was developed and is attached.  

The Committee believes the most cost effective service level option which provides for curbside collection of household solid waste once per week, once per month collection of certain bulky waste items (all the items currently accepted at the recycling center) and single stream collection of recyclable materials two times per month meets or exceeds the service presently provided to our residents by private waste haulers and the services provided by the Township at the Recycling Center. This level of service also reflects the industry trend towards once per week collection of solid waste. This option also  provides significant savings to the residents and the Township.  

For  the base  service as outlined above (residents provide their own receptacles), the quarterly charge would be $68.00, a savings of 28% or $27.55 per quarter ( $110.02 annually) based on current fees charged by two of the three companies now servicing Plumsted. For the option service as outlined above (residents are provided one 95 gallon totter for both solid waste and recycling collection), the quarterly charge would be $74.00, a savings of 22% or $21.55 per quarter ($86.20 annually). These savings will remain in effect for the expected three year life of the contract.

The Committee’s recommendation is to award the totter option as the best option for the residents and the Township.  The totter option, while slightly more expensive than the Base Option, still results in significant savings and it will  help to manage household waste, encourage recycling and  thereby reduce the overall solid waste tonnage disposed of at the landfill. This option should further ensure we are able to stay within the budget estimate and may, if significant enough, allow the quarterly charge to be reduced in years 2 and 3 or to increase the collection of recyclables to one time per week to further reduce the amount of solid waste collected. If this option is selected, Waste Management will agree to collect a reasonable amount of extra trash (outside the totter) on the occasion where a resident may need this. Their experience is, however, that there are few complaints from residents on this issue where totters are provided. Their recommendation is we limit this to the equivalent of one (1) 32-35 gallon container. I addressed this issue with Ingrid Perez, Deputy Director of Public Works for Hamilton Township in Atlantic County. She confirmed Waste Management’s statement that once they switched from resident receptacles to totters only a handful of customers actually needed extra disposal. Hamilton is on a once a week collection schedule as we propose.  More importantly, once the switch was made, their solid waste tonnage dropped dramatically from 1.7 tons per household annually to 1.1 tons per household annually. Lastly, she stated totters improve “the look” of the town as they are uniform in appearance. 

The Committee also reviewed two issues which are essential to the successful implementation of a solid waste and recycling program. These are: 1) the tonnage estimates for solid waste and bulky waste the budget is based on; and 2) ensuring the solid waste and bulky waste collected is not mixed with other sources.

The tonnage estimates included in the budget are based on data that exists from Ocean County and the information we have from the Recycling Center. Based on this, the estimate is 3600 tons of solid waste and 600 tons of bulky waste; a total of 4200 tons. These estimates were compared against four sources; the US Environmental Protection Agency (3,723 tons), Waste Management (3,580 tons), Waste Zero (3,217 tons) and Pemberton Township (3,548 tons). By each of these, the amount of tonnage included in the budget is over stated. In addition, the budget includes a one month reserve which is the equivalent of an additional 350 tons.  As stated above, the totter option will help to reduce the amount of solid waste tonnage by encouraging recycling and homeowner management of their solid waste stream.

 The issue of how we are assured the solid waste and bulky waste collected is not mixed with other sources was discussed with Waste Management at a meeting with Peter Ylvisaker on February 1, 2011. At this meeting, Waste Management agreed to dedicate specific vehicles to our service alone. Additionally, Waste Management has a vehicle tracking program which can identify the service route, the vehicle movement and the customer location and time of pick up. This information is available instantaneously and is also available on demand from Waste Management. It should be our normal operating practice to verify adherence to this requirement by unannounced field and office inspections.