State Belt Township in Pennsylvania Faces 116% Increase in Garbage and Recycling Collection Fees

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage):  Next year, Upper Mount Bethel Township residents could be paying more than double the current rate for curbside collection of garbage and recycling. Based on the only bid received by the township, refuse collection could go up from the current rate of $225 per household per year to $485 per household per year in 2023. The current contract with Waste Management expires on Dec. 31. Upper Mount Bethel recently requested bids for township-wide collection services, and Waste Management is the sole bidder for waste collection services in the township starting in 2023.

The township board of supervisors is scheduled to vote on the contract at its Dec. 12 meeting. If supervisors do not accept the bid, residents would have to seek their own individual arrangements for garbage collection. The 2023 bid increases the fee by $260 or about 116% from the current rate per household. Waste Management representative Ron Carlson said increased costs for gas and recycling are driving the prices up. There is also a shortage of workers and drivers, he said. “Fuel, as you know, has tripled,” Carlson said. “We can’t find people.”

As a response to employee shortages, there will be several changes to the current mode of collection in the township if the Waste Management bid is accepted, Carlson said. Trucks with automated lifting devices will be deployed for trash pickups. Currently, garbage vehicles in the township are loaded by workers on the truck.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com