Middlesex County garbage, recycling collections are picking up

MIDDLESEX COUNTY - County and local officials are hopeful that delays in recycling and solid waste pickups in several municipalities, which peaked during the first few weeks of July, remain on the decline.

According to a statement Tuesday from the Middlesex County Improvement Authority (MCIA), which contracts with Interstate Waste Services (IWS) to provide recycling pickup for 17 of its 25 municipalities, IWS has increased its staffing and over the last two days, there have been no delays in recycling services.

IWS provides recycling pickup to Cranbury, Dunellen, Helmetta, Jamesburg, Middlesex, Milltown, Monroe, New Brunswick, North Brunswick, Old Bridge, Piscataway, Plainsboro, Sayreville, South Amboy, South Plainfield, South River, and Spotswood.

"The MCIA is hopeful that continued efforts to maintain appropriate staffing levels will result in a regular recycling schedule at normal pick up times, resulting in fewer delays," the statement said.

IWS, based in Teaneck, is a privately-owned waste collection and recycling firm, which owns and operates facilities across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, according to its website.

In a May 10 release, IWS announced its acquisition of Solterra Recycling Solutions, a Ewing Township-based solid waste, organic waste and recycling collection provider serving residential and commercial customers throughout the Central Jersey and the Philadelphia area.

But IWS's delays in recycling and solid waste pickups in the county were recently reported.

IWS said in a statement Monday that it "recently acquired Solterra Recycling and is actively working to increase driver headcount and collection vehicles to further enhance service levels throughout the Solterra service footprint."

"We are committed to delivering excellent customer service to residents and commercial establishments," the statement said.

In a July 12 statement, an unnamed MCIA official said IWS informed the county that a national staffing crisis and unprecedented call-outs resulted in the delays.

"This problem is not unique to our community; cities, towns, and counties across the country are experiencing similar trash/recycling issues as a national shortage of certified truck drivers and other staff impact the industry," the statement said. "Middlesex County is not immune to these struggles. The MCIA and IWS have been in communication about this issue for the past several weeks to find solutions and discuss steps being taken to rectify the issue. While we work through this extraordinary time, we will continue to keep the lines of communication open with IWS to ensure we are doing everything we can, collectively, to resolve this issue for our residents."

According to the MCIA, the county has been working with Solterra/IWS since 2015 to provide curbside recycling services to municipalities to "great success."

"By pooling resources, the MCIA is able to pass the savings in recycling disposal costs to taxpayer," the MCIA official said. "In a market that has seen recycling costs more than double for many municipalities throughout the state, the MCIA offers towns fiscal stability. The current contract took effect on March 31, 2020 for a 3-year period with two one-year optional renewals. The annual base bid cost is $6,908,776.32."

East Brunswick, which independently contracts with IWS for its solid waste and recycling collection, also experienced delays in pickups, Mayor Brad Cohen told residents at the end of June.

"I think the issues that were going on with the garbage, whether it be solid waste or recycling, have calmed down," Mayor Brad Cohen said Tuesday. "I haven't heard any complaints about it in the last few weeks. Right now it's not perfect, but it's definitely gotten better. We're hoping the worst is behind us, but I don't have a crystal ball."

Cohen said complaints peaked during the first two weeks of July, but over the last two weeks it has slowly gotten a little bit better.

"It's primarily a labor issue," the mayor said. "Another issue is the trucks are very mechanical and parts can break down. There are a lot of trucks in yards waiting for parts to come in. They are subject to the same problems the rest of us are having."

In response to the delays, the township extended hours at its recycling center and tried to connect IWS to staffing companies that could help them find workers, Cohen said. He also said he believes it helped the community by "giving them fair notice of what was going on."

The township currently has a five year contract with IWS for curbside collection, which began in 2019. The cost for solid waste collection in 2019 was $1,790,460 and $931,800 for recycling collection. This year the township is paying $1,950,791.50 for solid waste collection and $1,015,240 for recycling collection. In 2023, the final year of the contract, the township will pay $2,007,364.50 for solid waste collection and $1,044,682.00 for recycling collection.

Cohen said because the township is large, "it has the ability to negotiate a better rate with IWS on our own."

"For the average homeowner, we're paying about $265 per year for all of their garbage and recycling pickup, which is a lot less than other towns," he said.

But, he does expect costs will rise in the future.

"Garbage pickup costs for these service providers have gone up and the additional costs will be passed on," Cohen said. "Because of the labor shortage and workers' comp issues that they face, they're likely to be converting to one arm trucks, where you don't use as many people, which is certainly something that we're going to have to face come the next contract period. The reality is that's where the industry is going. We're probably not going to have many options."

When the township went out to bid for five-year contracts that began in 2014 and 2019, Solterra, now IWS, was the only company that responded, Cohen said.

South Brunswick, which contracts with Republic Services for its solid waste and recycling pickup, also experienced pick up delays in early to mid July.

The township started experiencing delays July 5, township spokesperson Ronald Schmalz said.

More:Water utilities ask Central Jersey customers to cut back on outdoor watering

An alert was sent out to the community on July 11 that addressed the delays and Republic Services deployed additional trucks to the township July 11 and July 12 in order to remove the backlog in pickups, Schmalz said.

In an email on Tuesday, Schmalz said "we're all caught up."

This year, the township is paying Republic $3,856,000 for its solid waste and recycling services, Township CFO John Bolcato said, adding the cost is projected to increase 4% per year for each remaining year of the contract. The contract, which began in January, has an initial three year term plus two extensions for a total of five years, he said.

Republic Services did not respond to a request for comment.

According to IWS, there are a variety of jobs available, but its recruiting efforts are focused on drivers, mechanics, and equipment operators.

People can visit https://interstatewaste.com/careers/ to see the open positions.

Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. 

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Middlesex County garbage, recycling collections are picking up