Council, during the June 14th Municipal Budget Workshop, voted to approve an amendment to its contract with Great Northern Recycling where, effective July 1, 2012, the recycling company will credit back $400 to the municipality for each biweekly pick up for the remainder of the contract which ends June 30, 2013.
This signifies a $10,800 savings for the 24 pick-ups (twice a month), with $5,200 being allotted to the 2012 municipal budget.
Borough Clerk Doreen Cali explained the determination of the reduction, “What we did was take the cost of truck . . . and split the profit and came up with a number of $400 per pick-up.”
Second Ward Councilman Marc Caswell asked why Great Northern Recycling did not want to honor the original contract. Ms. Cali stated that the company purchased a new facility which will do single-stream disposal of recycling material.
Fifth Ward Councilman Michael Yakubov asked what the process would be to notify the public in the change of pick-up. Ms. Cali stated there would be no change. Mr. Yakubov stated that residents would no longer need to separate their recyclables – which included bottles, cans, and papers – into different containers and could simply put them together since it would all go into the same truck.
Councilman Caswell asked, “So they don’t have to pay for the extra truck. They don’t have to pay for the two or three salaries and benefits of the gentlemen driving the truck? And they hand us a $40 a pick-up?”
Third Ward Coucnilwoman Tanya Torres asked how much is generally paid to Great Northern Recycling. The Chief Financial Officer Ken Blum responded that the amount for 2011 was $98,786.28. The resolution was voted on and approved unanimously. Although no public notice was made, single stream recycling pick-up will began with the first pick-up in July and will continue until June 2013 . Resident will no longer need to separate their recyclables but recycling material will still need to be kept separate from regular garbage pick-up.
A video on single-stream recycling can be viewed below: