North WIldwood Council Talks Trash

NORTH WILDWOOD – City Council unanimously passed a resolution during its Dec. 4 regular meeting that will exercise their third, and final, one year option with Waste Management, Inc. The year-long contract will cost the city $507,636.
The future of the city’s relationship with Waste Management may change once the county’s push toward single-stream recycling becomes reality April 1, 2013.
“I spoke with the regional manager of Waste Management and he has indicated if the county is able to implement the single-stream, as they are planning to do on April 1, Waste Management fully believes they will see a cost savings from the efficiencies that come from the single-stream,” City Administrator Louis Bellasco told Council during the caucus session prior to the regular meeting.
According to Bellasco, Waste Management told the city if the company does realize any savings from single-stream recycling, those savings would be shared with the municipality. Bellasco added the company was not able to give the city exact numbers as to the anticipated savings.
“They will be able to back into the cost savings pretty quickly,” said Bellasco, “because they’ve seen it in other municipalities.”
The city informed Waste Management it is interested in rebidding its trash hauling contract with the refuse company next year, including allowing the refuse company to own the trash it collects.
“It is an option of the hauler to own the waste, which would mean they would be responsible for the tipping fees,” said the administrator. He told Council the company had recently entered into such a contract with Winslow Township.
“They were able to save them significant money through them allowing Waste Management to own the waste,” said Bellasco, referring to the Camden County township.
Allowing the refuse company to own the waste it collects from the city would enable mingling of trash from businesses as well as other municipalities.
Under the current contract tipping fees are paid by the city, therefore trash from other entities may not be added to the trucks when they make their rounds.
“They can go from one town to the next because it’s their trash,” explained Henfey about the advantage of the disposal company owning the municipality’s trash.
Bellasco said he believed Waste Management owned its own disposal sites and incinerator, allowing the company to dispose of waste through its own operation rather than paying MUA tipping fees.
“What the MUA think about this?” asked a Council member.
“The MUA is going to get all the recyclables, and that’s all they care about,” responded Henfey. He explained the tipping fee charged by the MUA for trash brought to the facility essentially only covers the costs associated with the disposal.
Henfey said since the city is a resort community, said in order to see a true comparison data using numbers from both 2012 and 2013 would be needed to see how much of a cost savings was realized.
“We’re going to have to look at what happens to our tipping fees this summer of 2013 as compared to the summer of 2012 if we’re single-streaming, because the theory behind single-streaming is more people will recycle, therefore they put less in the trash and your tipping fees go down anyway.”
Henfey added the city would not be able to know if it was getting a better deal unless there was a comparison of history on how much the city saved by single-streaming.
According to the mayor, resort communities who use single-stream recycling have found vacationing visitors to be more apt to recycle.
“If vacation people can put cardboard, newspapers, bottles, cans, aluminum and everything into one can, they recycle more,” said Henfey, adding perhaps Boardwalk merchants and restaurants would better comply.
“I really think we’re going to see some savings here,” said Henfey.