Frequent Questions: 

1. How will the proposed system save residents money? 

Two ways:  

1) A unified town-wide contract leads to substantially lower average cost per household than individual agreements. A poll of nearby towns shows that towns like us with 

individual agreements pay $100 - $175 more per household per year for comparable garbage pickup and disposal compared to towns with unified contracts or municipal systems. 

And 2) Reducing the amount of garbage produced lowers disposal costs at the incinerator.  It costs Maplewood residents $85 per ton of garbage delivered to the incinerator.  Last year Maplewood residents produced about 8000 tons of garbage.  Lowering the amount of garbage produced, by reducing the amount of disposable materials taken in and by increasing recycling and composting, produces direct savings in reduced tipping fees, while more recycling increases recycling revenue.  The combined benefit from shifting a ton of recyclable material from the garbage to the recycling stream is about $170. 

The exact cost of the proposed system will not be known until the potential contractors submit bids.  If the bids unexpectedly fail to show adequate savings to justify the change, all of the bids can be rejected and the current system would continue. Individual household savings will depend on what they are currently paying and the amount of garbage they generate.   

2. Are there other advantages to the town contracting a unified bid in addition to saving money? 

Yes.  

Contract stipulations can be built into the agreement to improve the quality of garbage service.  These could include enforced prohibitions against staging garbage and requiring that the hauler clean up any spills.  Also: having a single hauler reduces the number of garbage trucks traveling our streets by almost half.  The contract could also include provisions to pickup public litter barrels, increasing the efficiency and lowering the cost to residents. 

3. How will the proposed system help the environment? 

The environmental benefits are another major reason for changing our garbage system.  Towns that have switched to per-bag, Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) systems report significant reductions in garbage disposal and increases in recycling.  Analysis published in Resource Recycling magazine this February shows that PAYT systems on average reduce garbage disposal 17%, with the reduction coming about 1/3 each from source reduction, increased recycling, and composting.  Waste reduction is one of the most effective environmental measures available.  If Maplewood were to achieve even a 10% reduction in garbagedisposalalong these lines, it would result in avoided greenhouse gas emissions of over 5 million pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent.  This is equivalent to reducing gasoline consumption by more than 200,000 gallons (equivalent to avoiding driving 4 million miles in a minivan). 

4. What changes will there be from the existing garbage system? 

The only change being proposed that will be felt by households would be how they pay for the new service.  Instead of paying their contractor, households would pay a fee to the township for the hauling costs, similar to the current sewer fee, and would be required to buy specially marked bags or stickers to cover the cost of tipping at the incinerator.  These bags/stickers would be conveniently available at locations such as local stores, town hall, and by mail from the contractor and could be borrowed from any resident in a pinch.  Households that produce less garbage will incur lower costs than those that produce more.  The proposal still calls for twice-a-week rear-yard pickup with monthly bulk pickup and optional yard waste pickup.   

5. Will there be any changes to the recycling program at the same time?   

No.  

Maplewood’s contract with the recycling collection contractor goes through the end of 2012.  Improvements to the recycling system may be possible beginning in 2013. 

6. What about people who will try to avoid the per bag charge by dumping in public trash cans or commercial dumpsters? 

That fear doesn't fit national research, which shows that in those communities where additional illegal dumping does occur (about a quarter of communities going to PAYT report some increased dumping), it is almost always a temporary condition and illegal dumping returns to previous levels after a few months.   What's more, these cases are mostly communities where garbage went from being free to per-bag.  It is hard to imagine an instance in Maplewood where someone who has been paying $280 to $500 per year would suddenly start dumping rather than pay a dollar or so for a bag.  

7. When will the changes occur? 

It is expected that it will take until late spring next year before the new system can be approved by the Township Committee, bid specifications can be written and bid on by contractors, a contractor chosen, and the system implemented.   In order to allow more competitive bids it is anticipated that the contract will be bid for multiple years. 

8. How will the program be evaluated? 

The township will complete a professional evaluation of this program against the following criteria: 

a) Change in solid waste tonnage tipped at the Essex County Incinerator 

b) Change in the recycling tonnage collected 

c) Residents’ experience with the program, likes and dislikes, problem areas that might have arisen 

d) Comparison of actual resident costs against estimates  

e) Opportunities to improve efficiency of township staff time and reduce administrative costs