Across CMCo, Pinelands Wins More Business

COURT HOUSE – Towns across the county have been switching trash pick-up companies ahead of 2023. The changes come after Gold Medal Environmental (GME) informed municipalities they weren’t paying enough last spring.
It appears that Pinelands Recycling, a Sea Isle City-based company, will have some new business come 2023 and that GME may lose some Cape May County municipal customers.
Avalon announced it accepted a bid from Pinelands at its Sept. 14 meeting and planned to memorialize the resolution at a future meeting.  
Ocean City’s council approved a new trash and recycling pickup contract with Pinelands Aug. 25, for an annual total of $1.95 million. The contract will start in the new year with all services remaining the same. According to municipal spokesman Doug Bergen, GME will continue until the end of the year. 
Ocean City had originally agreed to pay $1.53 million for pick-up in 2022 but had to pay an additional $770,000 for 2022 after GME said it would stop picking up trash. 
The new Pinelands contract will be about $300,000 less than what Ocean City paid in 2022.
Wildwood was scheduled to receive bids by Sept. 21, but only received one bid – from GME. City Manager Steve O’Connor said the bid amount exceeded the city’s threshold and he was recommending it be rejected and the contract put back out to bid.  
North Wildwood canceled its contract with GME and went directly to Pinelands last spring. Mayor Patrick Rosenello said GME violated the conditions of the contract when it tried to renegotiate, so the city was free to cancel the contract. 
Gold Medal Environmental announced that they would not be able to do business at the contract amounts and would refuse to pick up trash in municipalities that did not go along with the increases. 
“We canceled their contract and went with Pinelands,” Rosenello said. 
The mayor said he understands GME wanted more money, but the city felt they were going about it all wrong. 
“It wasn’t the amount; it was the manner in which it was presented – ‘Do this or else,’” Rosenello said. 
The city solicitor advised North Wildwood that there was an “anticipatory breach” of the contract by GME and the city had grounds to cancel. 
Although North Wildwood ended its relationship with GME before the start of summer, a number of other communities took steps to meet GME’s demand for more money. 
West Wildwood, for example, decided to pay GME an additional 8 percent, or $6,200 for their trash pick-up. 
The issue of continuing with GME was raised by a member of the public at a Middle Township Committee meeting, but Mayor Tim Donahue said there was no change being planned. The Borough of Woodbine also uses GME. 
Stone Harbor collects its own trash, one of a few municipalities that do. The borough has its own trucks and its employees bring the full cans to the truck and return them to wherever they are stored on the property. Public Works Director Manny Parada said some refer to it as “concierge” trash service. 
Upper Township, Sea Isle City, Lower Township, and Wildwood Crest also have their own trucks and employees who perform curbside pick-up.  
In Cape May, trash is picked up by several local trash companies and paid for by the individual home or business owner. The City of Cape May only picks up recycling.
Frankie Edwardi, president of Pinelands Recycling said his company picked up several municipalities recently, including Ocean City and Avalon. It also has contracts with North Wildwood, West Cape May and Dennis Township. Edwardi said they also serve a number of households in Cape May.
Outside the county, the company also serves Maurice River Township, Commercial Township, Smithville and Galloway Township.
Have any thoughts? Contact csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600 ext. 128.