Middletown Gears Up For Trash & Recycling Service Changes

Middletown Township residents will soon see changes to their trash and recycling collection as the municipality prepares to roll out its new contract with Waste Management in the new year.

In August, the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors approved a new $28.4 million, five-year contract with Waste Management that will cut collection to one day per week, add automated collection, and change bulk pickup to once per month.

Under the new deal that drew concerns from some residents that once-weekly collection won’t be enough to get rid of their waste, residents will pay a fee of $476 per year, a $75 increase over 2024.

New 96-gallon wheeled carts – one for trash and one for recycling – started being delivered to the homes of Middletown Township residents by Waste Management last week and that will continue until mid-December.

The first day residents can put out the new carts at the curb will be the week of January 6.

Residents who need smaller carts or extra will be able to contact Waste Management to get one in the new year. An extra cart will cost $12 per month.

Residents received a mailer about the new service with more details.

The township asked residents to use the new carts starting in January by placing them with the wheels face the home and leave at least three feet of space from cars or other obstacles so they can be collected.

Residents can still use their old trash cans and blue Middletown Township-branded recycling bins. The old cans can be used for yard waste and the blue recycling bins can be used in place of the 96-gallon carts.

To prepare for the transition, the supervisors authorized the township solicitor to draft and advertise an ordinance amending the Solid Waste and Recycling ordinance.

Assistant Township Manager Nick Valla described the changes as “strictly a housekeeping item” to adjust the allowable container size from the current 35-gallon limit.

Valla noted that the ordinance provides general regulations for both residential and commercial properties, including homeowners’ association neighborhoods that facilitate their own trash collection.

For more information on the new trash contract, the township has set up a website.

Advertisement