Reinstatement of Bulk Garbage Pick-up

Maplewood residents now pay close to $500 to have disposal service. During the past that included two bulk pick-ups a year. That was reduced to one. Now we have 4 items per month that requires communication with the hauler. The town dump is only opened twice a year. Meanwhile the bulk garbage is accumulating in residents' basements and garages probably creating a fire hazard. Now residents have to go to the private sector and pay close to $500 or more to have their waste removed. Again,the more you pay for services the less you get. Thank you Vic De Luca.

It's probably illegal the way the town continues to eliminate basic services to continue to raise municipal salaries and benefits while staying under the "2%" cap. And many streets are now all-but impassible.

Trash hauling is not a municipality-provided service in Maplewood. Our taxes do not pay for it. Therefore, there is no impact on the municipal budget for our trash hauler-provided services. Each of us contracts with the hauler of our choice from among those permitted to serve residents and businesses in the town. Both haulers presently approved for residential customers offer a variety of plans depending on customer preference/preferred usage. We do not all pay the same rate.

I too miss the scavenger nights. It was a great way to recycle things we no longer needed that could be of use to someone else and a great way to discover treasures (to us) in discards of our neighbors. I also liked the convenience of being able to put out everything at once. However, the once yearly bulk pick-up (sometimes twice a year) resulted in the stock piling of more stuff for pick up than the monthly option does.

The town sponsored bring-it-to-DPW option while a real opportunity for many disadvantages the elderly, infirm, those with smaller personal vehicles, and those who do not drive at all. Saturday only drop off days also disadvantage those who do no work on Saturday for religious reasons. Therefore, some of us who would like to take advantage of bulk drop off days offered by the town find ourselves unable to do so.

Joan:

Bulk pick-up was a municipality provided service which we lost as taxes and garbage costs increased!

Global warming. The Mets dropped to second place. I have a cold. Thanks, Vic DeLuca.

.

So when is bulk pickup? I've got great stuff piling up in my garage, and I'd hate to just take it to the dump. If I have to take it to the dump, when is the dump open for bulk dropoff?

noo2wood:

Twice a year

Jeffl:

De Luca is opposed to bulk pickup and more concerned about Christie's two percent cap

Have bulk garbage days been reinstated?

getalife said:
Jeffl:
De Luca is opposed to bulk pickup and more concerned about Christie's two percent cap

Where do you get this stuff? In the 25 years I have lived here, bulk pick-up has always been provided by the private haulers. When WM first tried to eleiminate it, the TC fought hard, and we were able to hold on to it for another few years. As Joan pointed out above, there are pluses and minuses to both systems, but you seem to be nostolgic for a fantasy resource that never existed. The current once-per-month system requires a bit of responsibility on your part (you have to actually remember to call) that does seem to upset some people.

As for your allegation about salaries, are you aware that the TC are unpaid?

Waste Management is messing with me. Ever since I complained to their management that they tore through my bags and left a mess on the driveway they have only been picking up my trash once a week. They just go right by my house - I have seen them do it. I have complained and the management says they will take care of it and have discounted my bill but nothing has changed. I will probably switch to Waste Industries but it requires effort. Also, I don't understand why Waste Industries charges Maplewood $81 a month for two cans per week but $15 a month for Livingston at 2-3 cans per week.

getalife said:
Joan:
Bulk pick-up was a municipality provided service which we lost as taxes and garbage costs increased!

Bulk pick-up has not been a municipality provided service for the more than 30 years I have lived here. It was a town-negotiated service with the trash haulers we had way back when. It was lost when a subsequent trash hauler refused to provide it. The town offered bulk drop off days to residents at tax payer expense to compensate for this loss. Later, our current trash haulers offered 4 items a month bulk pick-up, subject to prior notification/appointment. This was also negotiated by the town on our behalf.

cleg said:
Waste Management is messing with me. Ever since I complained to their management that they tore through my bags and left a mess on the driveway they have only been picking up my trash once a week. They just go right by my house - I have seen them do it. I have complained and the management says they will take care of it and have discounted my bill but nothing has changed. I will probably switch to Waste Industries but it requires effort. Also, I don't understand why Waste Industries charges Maplewood $81 a month for two cans per week but $15 a month for Livingston at 2-3 cans per week.

Does Livingston have back yard pick-up

max_weisenfeld said:

getalife said:
Jeffl:
De Luca is opposed to bulk pickup and more concerned about Christie's two percent cap

Where do you get this stuff? In the 25 years I have lived here, bulk pick-up has always been provided by the private haulers. When WM first tried to eleiminate it, the TC fought hard, and we were able to hold on to it for another few years. As Joan pointed out above, there are pluses and minuses to both systems, but you seem to be nostolgic for a fantasy resource that never existed. The current once-per-month system requires a bit of responsibility on your part (you have to actually remember to call) that does seem to upset some people.
As for your allegation about salaries, are you aware that the TC are unpaid?

Where do you get your stuff?

http://patch.com/new-jersey/maplewood/mayor-says-he-will-not-support-funding-youthnet

quoting:

"DeLuca suggested raising the township committee member salary from $3,920 per year to $5,000 per year. He said that with the rising cost of transportation, the committee often has had to reach into their own pockets to cover expenses. Ryan noted the committee salary has not changed in almost 20 years."

That's not a salary. That's not even atip.

Coneheads said:

max_weisenfeld said:

getalife said:
Jeffl:
De Luca is opposed to bulk pickup and more concerned about Christie's two percent cap

Where do you get this stuff? In the 25 years I have lived here, bulk pick-up has always been provided by the private haulers. When WM first tried to eleiminate it, the TC fought hard, and we were able to hold on to it for another few years. As Joan pointed out above, there are pluses and minuses to both systems, but you seem to be nostolgic for a fantasy resource that never existed. The current once-per-month system requires a bit of responsibility on your part (you have to actually remember to call) that does seem to upset some people.
As for your allegation about salaries, are you aware that the TC are unpaid?

Where do you get your stuff?
http://patch.com/new-jersey/maplewood/mayor-says-he-will-not-support-funding-youthnet
quoting:
"DeLuca suggested raising the township committee member salary from $3,920 per year to $5,000 per year. He said that with the rising cost of transportation, the committee often has had to reach into their own pockets to cover expenses. Ryan noted the committee salary has not changed in almost 20 years."

jeffl said:
Global warming. The Mets dropped to second place. I have a cold. Thanks, Vic DeLuca.

Don't feed the trolls.

It says a lot about Vic's lackeys in here that they feel the need to lie in support of him.

Yes it would be nice to reinstate one or two bulk town scavenger pickups per year but the likelihood of this happening are slim at best. For the price of a phone call, you can put out 4 items each month. That's 24 items every six months/48 items per year.

How much more than that do you have laying around? Bulk pickup is the last Wednesday of the month for Waste Management customers and the last Saturday for Waste Industries. Mark it down on your calendars, make the phone call and you won't have much piling up in your basements or garages.

getalife said:
Maplewood residents now pay close to $500 to have disposal service. During the past that included two bulk pick-ups a year. That was reduced to one. Now we have 4 items per month that requires communication with the hauler. The town dump is only opened twice a year. Meanwhile the bulk garbage is accumulating in residents' basements and garages probably creating a fire hazard. Now residents have to go to the private sector and pay close to $500 or more to have their waste removed. Again,the more you pay for services the less you get. Thank you Vic De Luca.

You can take your garbage to the town dump any weekday between 9:00 and 5:00 for free. It's on the east side of town between the power plant and the shipping port.

I suppose you can take the T.C. to task for various things, but garbage collection and bulk pick-up is not one of them.

Coneheads said:
It says a lot about Vic's lackeys in here that they feel the need to lie in support of him.

I know Jim Lackey and I have never heard him lie ...

Don't feed the trolls.

Soul_29 said:

Coneheads said:
It says a lot about Vic's lackeys in here that they feel the need to lie in support of him.

I know Jim Lackey and I have never heard him lie ...

jeffl said:
Don't feed the trolls.

Soul_29 said:

Coneheads said:
It says a lot about Vic's lackeys in here that they feel the need to lie in support of him.

I know Jim Lackey and I have never heard him lie ...

nvm. Carry on.

.

Coneheads said:
It's probably illegal the way the town continues to eliminate basic services to continue to raise municipal salaries and benefits while staying under the "2%" cap. And many streets are now all-but impassible.

Too funny.

joan_crystal said:

getalife said:
Joan:
Bulk pick-up was a municipality provided service which we lost as taxes and garbage costs increased!

Bulk pick-up has not been a municipality provided service for the more than 30 years I have lived here. It was a town-negotiated service with the trash haulers we had way back when. It was lost when a subsequent trash hauler refused to provide it. The town offered bulk drop off days to residents at tax payer expense to compensate for this loss. Later, our current trash haulers offered 4 items a month bulk pick-up, subject to prior notification/appointment. This was also negotiated by the town on our behalf.

I've lived in Maplewood 29 years, and my recollection is that we used to get two bulk pickups (by the trash hauler) per year. I am 99% certain that the town paid for one (i.e. through our taxes) and the other was paid by the trash hauler (i.e. via our fees for those services.) It was only sometime in the last decade that it evolved to the system we have now.

I would happily pay a bit more for garbage pickup to restore at least one of those big bulk pickups per year (without limit to four items and with 'everyone' doing it at once.) One big advantage was that much of the "stuff" ended up being claimed by other residents or by outside scavengers during those evenings. I'm sure that some of this still goes on each month on those last Wednesdays and Saturdays, but I doubt that nearly as much stuff is saved from the landfill or incinerator or whatever as used to be the case.

tjohn said:
I suppose you can take the T.C. to task for various things, but garbage collection and bulk pick-up is not one of them.

Neither is the pittance they're paid.

getalife said:
Now we have 4 items per month that requires communication with the hauler. The town dump is only opened twice a year. Meanwhile the bulk garbage is accumulating in residents' basements and garages probably creating a fire hazard.

According to the new math and the old system, six months worth of waste accumulating in between the two bulk pickups you seem to wistfully long for wasn't a fire hazard? What was THAT then

There are many reasons to want to reinstate bulk pickups and no doubt many reasons not to do so. But I don't think fire hazards play into this decision one way or the other