Message on Garbage and Recycling Collection Services

Dear Springfield Residents:

I wanted to take this opportunity to explain to you changes to the recycling and garbage collection services. 

The previous contracts for garbage and recycling collection started January 1, 2007 and ended December 31, 2012.

After several months of preparation, the Township advertised a Request for Proposals (RFP) for new collections service effective January 2013.  The RFP had nine options for potential bidders, offering several new options to the Township that will be cost-saving and environmentally beneficial to the Township. 

The RFPs were advertised on October 4, 2012 in the Star Ledger and the Local Source newspapers.  Proposals were received back on December 4, 2012.  Five eligible bids were received for garbage and recycling collection services. 

The bid proposals were reviewed by the Township professionals and presented to the Township Finance Sub-Committee.  On December 18, 2012 at the regularly scheduled and advertised meeting, analyses and recommendations were presented at the Township Committee.  After careful review and discussion, the Township Committee approved the following actions:

Garbage collection services was awarded to Regional Industries, LLC, a private hauler who had the lowest and most responsible bid for once per week collection
services.  Regional Industries is the same company that provided exceptional services to the Township for the past five years. This change to once a week collection will save the town $101,540 per year or over $500,000 for the term of the contract.  The schedule change is as follows:  If your garbage was picked up Monday and Thursday, your garbage collection day will be Thursday.   If your garbage collection day was Tuesday and Friday, your garbage collection day will be Friday.  This will start Thursday, January 31 and Friday, February 1, 2013, respectively.  Please, no grass and recyclables mixed in with garbage pickups.

Bulk garbage pick-up will remain at 4 times per year:  March 20- 21, June 12-13, September 18-19 and December 11-12.  If your garbage pickup is Thursday, your bulk pickup will be the first date of the pickup - if your garbage pickup is Friday, your bulk pickup will be the second day of bulk pickup.     

Collection of garbage and recyclables in public parks and public containers in retail areas will now be collected by private collectors, thereby freeing up Department of Public Works to focus on their core operations.

With regard to recycling, Giordano Company, the same company that did every other week recycling collection will continue picking up recycling.  In previous years, we were paying $90,800 per year for recycling collection.  The new
contract will cost us $45,600 per year for every week recycling collection, a saving of $226,000 over the period of the contract.   Recycling collection services will be once a week, on Wednesdays, starting January 2, 2013.  Further, we are changing to “single stream” collection of recyclable materials - allowing residents not to separate recyclables by type, but instead allowing bottles, cans, glass, plastic
containers and recyclable mixed paper products to be commingled together into a
single waste stream.  Single –stream makes it easier for resident to store and collect materials and will increase the volume by as much as 30% collected. Increasing recycling collection frequency to every week makes it easier for residents too.  The more materials recycled will reduce materials going to our already crowded landfills, reducing the disposal costs, which is approaching 400,000 per year.  In addition, the Township is eligible to receive an increase in recycling grants from the County and State.  Finally, Giordano Company will be providing a rebate to the Township for every ton of recyclable materials collected and not put in landfills.  

I want to thank the Springfield Environmental Commission for helping the Township with education and outreach of these services.

Updated information and holiday pickup is on the Township home page at: http://www.springfield-nj.us/index.php?page=home and the DPW’s home page at: http://www.springfield-nj.us/departments/department-of-public-works.html. Frequent updates will also be available on the Springfield Patch.

We must continue to reduce costs, create opportunities to increase revenue and act environmentally responsible.  I hope this information is helpful in understanding the selection and changes to recycling and garbage collections services. 

Thank you for your cooperation. 

Sincerely,

Anthony Cancro 
Township Administrator