Wayne announces the return of curbside recyclables pickup. Here's when it'll start
WAYNE — Curbside pickup of recyclables will resume in the township on the morning of Dec. 19, the mayor said at a meeting on Wednesday.
The announcement came just before the Township Council awarded a three-year contract worth $5.9 million to Joseph Smentkowski Inc., a Jersey City-based hauler that also does business as Galaxy Carting Co. The deal includes annual options to renew at a cost of $185,000 per month in the fourth year and $193,000 per month in the fifth year.
The contract is for collection of cardboard and paper, plus commingled glass, metal and plastic.
The five-year cost is $2.2 million less than the most recent proposal by the prior hauler, Get-A-Can Inc., an affiliate of Paterson-based Gaeta Recycling Co. Its bids to continue handling the service were rejected three times by the council, causing its contract to lapse at the end of last month.
“It’s good news for the taxpayers tonight,” said Mayor Christopher Vergano. “I’m glad that we took the bold step of letting the contract expire.”
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Members of the council were appreciative of the administration’s effort to retain a different hauler.
Councilman Al Sadowski, of the 2nd Ward, said the benefit of making the switch outweighed the minor inconvenience of the pickup lapse. “It was a difficult decision, but it was the right decision for the residents,” he said. “The savings they’re going to realize over the long term is worth that little bit of hiccup.”
Gaeta was the only bidder, initially offering a three-year cost for the service of $7.6 million — a hike of 151.4% above the price of its former pact. It later reduced its proposal by $115,200 and then by another $374,400, hours before its contract expired.
“Please let me know if you would like our trucks in town tomorrow as we would like to continue our working relationship,” Gaeta’s president, Michael Portannese, wrote in an email to officials on Nov. 30.
Under usual circumstances, a governing body must accept the lowest bid.
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In this case, however, officials relied on a legal exception to turn down Gaeta’s offers: Its bids, they said, “substantially exceeded” the cost estimate for the work and the money allocated for it.
Portannese did not respond to an inquiry on Thursday. He said in a previous interview that operating expenses at Gaeta, including costs for diesel fuel and health care benefits, have skyrocketed.
Vergano said he was confident in the ability of the new hauler, having checked its references, but that there may be “growing pains.”
Gaeta, among the biggest names in waste disposal in the state, remains under contract to pick up residents’ trash and yard debris.
The township’s recycling center at 201 Dey Road has extended its daily hours to 5 p.m.
Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: devencentis@northjersey.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Wayne hires new recyclables hauler. Here's when it will start
