Town losing money because of lax recycling
One-man 'robo trucks' make it easier to sneak things in trash
BY PATRICIA A. MILLER
Staff Writer

The engine block found stuffed into a resident's garbage can recently was a good indication that residents are getting "a little lazy" when it comes to recycling.

"Those cans are pretty big," said Township Administrator Scott Pezarras. "They had a small engine block in there. The truck was straining to pick it up. That's when it was found. Those cans are only rated to 300 pounds."

And the township is losing the recycling battle, Mayor Daniel J. Kelly said recently.

"These are all moneys that this administration could use to fuel projects we want to do," Kelly said at a recent Township Council meeting. "Separate it and help us out. Frankly, folks, we've been throwing away money."

The township's tipping expenses at the Ocean County Landfill in Manchester Township are going up, while recycling revenue is going down, the mayor said.

"We are losing money," he said.

Both Kelly and Pezarras say the recycling problem has steadily gotten worse since the township went to one-man garbage trucks more than a decade ago.

"The main reason we lost it we went into the one-person garbage trucks," Kelly said. "You don't have people seeing the stuff going into the garbage. In the past, if there was cardboard or bottles, the people picking up the garbage left a note to explain. That's not happening anymore."

Pezarras agreed.

"It you don't have a human being actually looking at your actual garbage when he pulls the lid off and goes to dump, what's to say you don't throw some cans in there," he said.

Kelly plans to bring in someone from the public works department to "get the program going," he said.

"People get lax," he said. "It's easier to dump some cardboard into your garbage can than tie it up. It's easier to throw bottles and cans in there."

The township spent $3,110,000 in tipping fees at the Ocean County Landfill last year and received $79,280 back in recycling rebates from the county.

The tipping fees are up and the rebates are down, Pezarras said.

Some residents have complained about the time it takes to recycle, especially when it comes to tying up paper products, Pezarras said.

"The township is getting a little lazy in regard to recycling," he said.

The township uses an outside contractor to pick up garbage at condominium complexes, where the problem is especially acute because Dumpsters are used, Pezarras said.

"When the vendor goes to pick it up, we get the complaints," he said.

Even private haulers are required to report what they pick up to the state, Pezarras said.

"If you got everybody to comply, including business establishments with private pickup, if they separate out everything, we would get credit for it all," he said.