Some residents of Middletown Township showed up at a recent board meeting to voice their opinions about the future of waste collection in the township.
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At the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors meeting last Monday, the board presented an update to the process of renewing the trash and recycling contract that expires at the end of the year.
The supervisors will vote on the waste collection contract at the August meeting.
The board received bids from Waste Management, who is the current hauler; Whitetail Disposal; and J.P. Mascaro and Sons. Waste Management provided the lowest bid in the various options requested.
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In the bid, the township asked Waste Management to provide cost estimates for three different kinds of services.
Township Manager Stephanie Teali Kuhls gave an overview of their estimates, all of which will result in an increase from the township’s current price of $401 per household, a deal struck in 2019 that Kuhls said “was a bargain.”
| Name | Frequency | Collection Type | Cost with weekly bulk | Cost with monthly bulk |
| Option 1 (as is now) | Twice per week | Manual | $700 per household | $682 per household |
| Option 2 | Twice per week | Automated | $660 per household | $644 per household |
| Option 3 | Once per week | Automated | $512 per household | $476 per household |
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Automated collection is performed by “an automatic hydraulic arm that picks up and empties the cans into the truck, and it is for both trash and recycling”, Kuhls said.
A big concern residents have with automation is the loss of jobs that the current haulers have. But at the meeting, Waste Management provided a message saying “We will not be firing drivers if the township moves to automated collection.” The message also said that they need more drivers to be trained on automated collection, and in addition there is a lack of manual trash collectors elsewhere.
In all scenarios, manual collection would remain for dense townhome developments such as Villas of Middletown, Tareyton Estates, Windybush and Hollybrook, and for all bulk and yard collections.
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During public comment, Daniel Skoll, resident of Langhorne’s Summit Trace development, asked the board to consider adding Summit Trace to the list of developments for manual collection only. She also supported the current twice per week pickup.
“People online are saying the places that have once per week pickup are having rodent problems, insect problems, it’s a hygiene issue,” he said.
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Ray Post, resident of Lakeview Estates, stated that he thought the existing trash service was great as compared to neighboring communities. He thinks automated collection is a “much lower class of service. It might be automated for the collection company, but it involves more individual labor for the residents.”
He also said that he would support “once per week manual trash collection,” which was an option not presented.
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When asked about why the township didn’t place bids for this option, Kuhls told said, “We did not include the option for once a week manual as the trash receptacles and recycling receptacles are significantly smaller in size”.
If the township switches to automated collection, each resident would be provided with two 96 gallon containers, one for trash and the other for recyclables. In comparison, current trash cans in Middletown Township must be between 20 and 35 gallons.
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Kuhls said that after the first quarter, residents will be able to request a smaller bin if the new ones are too large.
Sheldon Post, resident of the Red Rose Gate section, commented that it makes sense to have the as-is as the leading option in the townships email communications on the contracts, “because you want to compare apples to apples right away.”
“If you say that on Dec. 31, 2024 you’re paying $400 and on Jan. 1, 2025 you’d be paying $700, that’s like a slap in the face. But if you take the fact that we’ve been paying $400 for five years, and then $700 would be for five years, it’s really over a ten year span. So it’s not as dramatic of an increase as it may sound”, he said.
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But his biggest issue was with bulk pickup. He is concerned that bulk would pile up if the township went to a monthly collection.
“There was a washer down at the end of one of our driveways. Tonight is Monday, bulk isn’t until Friday,” he said.
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Throughout the meeting, the board stressed for Middletown Township residents to fill out a survey on which option they would like to see.
Although the board is holding off on announcing the results until the survey closes at the end of the month, Supervisors Chairman Mike Ksiazek said that “looking at the results, there’s no clear consensus.”
“For those of you who haven’t participated yet, please do, because the more feedback we have from the public helps us consider the options and ultimately make a decision”, he said.
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