Elkton to convert trash and recycling services to same-day pick up
ELKTON — Households in the Town of Elkton weekly generate over 17 pounds of garbage more than the average, according to Waste Management officials. In a bid to promote residents to actively recycle, the Elkton Department of Public Works and Waste Management are looking to convert trash and recycling pickup services to same day pickups.
The initiative is part of a proposed plan to increase efficiency without increasing costs of service for Elkton residents.
The plan comes in response to the strain on resources WM has been facing due to rising costs due to inflation and Elkton’s large amounts of trash. The average household in Elkton accumulates 47.19 pounds of trash per week — that is 17.19 pounds more than the 30 pound industry standard in weekly trash disposal. The excess trash costs the town of Elkton an additional $162,771.08 a year to properly dispose of.
“Waste Management comes across a lot of bulk items like couches and as a trash collector, when you have big items, cans, and numerous bags, it is a strain on manpower and resources,” said Director of Public Works Dan Handley. “We then get backed up and there’s other areas that end up not being addressed and it is not fair to residents so Waste Management looked at the overall issue and is changing the number of days from two to three for pick ups, and doing both trash and recycling at the same time to keep the accumulation low.”
WM currently provides trash pickup Mondays and Tuesdays and recycling pick up on Thursdays and Fridays running six trucks for trash pick up and three trucks for recycling. The proposed plan by WM looks to provide trash and recycling pick up on the same days: Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. WM officials say that the new service schedule would reduce claims of missed collection and be more convenient for residents.
Another contributing factor to Elkton’s waste management issues is poor recycling habits. Elkton households collect a weekly average of 5.5 pounds of recycling, which is 4.5 pounds below the industry standard of 10 pounds. Elkton’s poor recycling habits have denied the town $29,125.98 of potential annual savings. Between the extra recycling and waste disposal costs, Elkton spends a total of $191,897.06 annually on trash disposal.
“There is a great deal of confusion and misconception about recycling,” said Paul Beane, the Public Sector Services Representative for Waste Management. “We need to take multiple approaches to this through support from the local government to educate the public on recycling and what is actually recyclable.”
A simple way to understand what is recyclable versus what is not recyclable is through what WM calls the “ick factor,” if something is dirty, do not recycle it without cleaning it first. An example would be jars and empty milk jugs, they need to be rinsed out before being recycled or they will be considered contaminated and added to landfill trash instead of recycling.
“Contamination in the recycling stream is a huge problem in the industry and a huge problem for the environment,” said Waste Management Manager of Communications John Hambrose. “When the people down the street have a clean load of recycling and the next three houses have trash in their recycling, it is very possible that the clean recycling will end up in the landfill because of contamination from the other houses.”
It currently costs WM and DPW $79-per-ton to dispose of trash in Cecil County, as opposed to the $22 it would cost for one ton of recycling.
“We, the Town of Elkton and Waste Management have to do a better job on marketing what the do’s and don’ts are with recycling and I feel pretty comfortable that we are well equipped to do so,” said Elkton Town Mayor, Robert Alt. “I think this is going to be a good thing for all.”
Alt says the town will look to include recycling and trash containers in the bid price when the current contract with WM expires, issuing 96g recycling and trash containers to households. Alt also noted that if the town is able to cut back the excess spending associated with waste disposal, that money would be used to buy trash and recycling bins for all residents.
According to officials, WM is currently evaluating ways to implement limits on the amount of bulk items residents can put out for pick up. During a town hall meeting, it was proposed that WM would only allow residents to dispose of one bulk item per month through WM pickup services and additional items would have a fee associated with them. WM and DPW continue to work on other solutions to the issue and a final decision has yet to be made.
“The trash and recycling aren’t really restrictive, we are worried about the bulk items because that is the key and the people see that,” said Handley. “If we know what’s going to be out for the month, that’s very efficient rather than different bulk items out every week that we don’t know about.”
Elkton residents currently pay $36 on a quarterly basis which equates to $12 a month for trash and recycling services – the national average is between $20 and $80 a month for trash and recycling service.
“The idea is to avoid any sort of cost increase while continuing to provide top of the line service, but in an efficient manner,” said Beane. “We charge far below industry standards and, currently, we pick up recycling every week as well as literally everything at the curb so we are providing far above industry standard service at below industry standard pricing.”
WM plans on implementing its new plan in November 2022.
Published: August 25, 2022
Elkton to change trash collection beginning Nov. 7
ELKTON — Beginning Nov. 7, Waste Management (WM) in Elkton will pick up both trash and recycling on the same day and will no longer pick up any unscheduled bulk items. Residents are asked to have their trash and recycling ready in two separate bins for pickup no later than 6 a.m. on their designated collection day.
Currently providing trash pickup Mondays and Tuesdays and recycling pick up on Thursdays and Fridays, WM runs six trucks for trash and three trucks for recycling. The new pick up schedule focuses on efficiency by doing pickups for both trash and recycling Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays running a truck for trash and a separate truck for recycling on the same day.
The neighborhoods that are due for collection on Mondays are: Chapel Run, Delancy Road, Estates of Walnut Lane, Gilpin Manor, Meadows at Elk Creek, Patriot’s Glenn, Red Hill (Hickory Knoll), Turnquist, Walnut Hill and Washington Woods.
Neighborhoods scheduled for collection on Tuesdays are: Downtown Elkton, Elkton Heights, Friendship Heights, Hermitage and Hollingsworth Manor.
The remaining neighborhoods – Buck Hill Farms, Buttonwoods, Delancy Village, Gray Hills, Kensington Courts, Normira Heights, South Stream and Thompson Estates – are scheduled for collection on Thursdays.
WM says the change is the best alternative to increase efficiency without having to increase service costs to residents. Elkton residents currently pay $36 on a quarterly basis – which equates to $12 a month for trash and recycling services. The national average is between $20 and $80 a month for trash and recycling services.
WM also hopes the change will increase the recycling habits of Elkton residents as the average household in Elkton is 4.5 pounds per week below the national weekly average per household recycling of 10 pounds and 17 pounds above the national weekly average per household of 30 pounds of trash disposal per week.
The town of Elkton currently spends a total of $191,897.06 annually on trash disposal – $162,771.08 of that is the additional cost Elkton pays to properly dispose of the excessive trash. $29,125.98 of the $191,897.06 can be saved by increased recycling as it costs WM $79 to dispose of one ton of trash in Cecil County and only $22 to recycle one ton of recycling.
Increasing recycling habits to put Elkton households on par with the national average of 10 pounds of recycling per week rather than 5.5 pounds will lower the amount of excessive trash and reduce the $191,897.06 the town spends in annual trash disposal.
In a previous interview regarding trash collection in Elkton, Mayor Rob Alt noted that if the town is able to cut back on the spending associated with the $191,897.06 then the town would use the money to buy trash and recycling toters for residents.
Bulk item pick ups can be scheduled once a month. Residents should call the Department of Public Works at (410) 392-6636 to schedule.
Published: November 2, 2022
Rate increases possible as Elkton evaluates new trash collection bids
ELKTON — After Waste Management — Elkton’s current trash collector — declined to bid on a new contract with the town, Elkton residents may see an increased trash collection bill after the town inks a new deal. The town is currently evaluating bids from three companies — all of which charge double what the town currently pays for trash and recycling services.
In FY23, Elkton paid Waste Management $773,000 for residential trash and recycling pick up services. Throughout the year, Waste Management worked with Elkton officials to find a solution that would alleviate what Waste Management officials called the “stress” that Elkton’s trash accumulation was having on the company.
Waste Management consistently stated that Elkton residents accumulate 17 pounds of garbage more than the average household per week and, in the same week’s time, recycle 4.5 pounds less.
A proposed solution by Waste Management was to convert trash and recycling services to same-day pick up as well as restrictions on how many large items — like refrigerators — Elkton residents could put on the curb for pickup.
Despite Waste Management and the town’s efforts to promote better recycling habits in the town and efficient trash collection, the switch caused confusion among residents and headaches for WM.
One of the final solutions Waste Management proposed was a roughly 15 percent increase to the rate the town was paying Waste Management for its services.
According to town officials, due to overall dissatisfaction with Waste Management’s services, the town declined an increased rate.
“We have had a great deal with Waste Management, it was outstanding for our residents,” said Elkton Mayor Robert Alt in reference to the rate that WM had been operating at. “But I do think Waste Management was losing money with Elkton.”
When asked why Waste Management opted out of submitting a bid, Waste Management’s Manager of Communications John Hambrose said that “sometimes Waste Management just doesn’t bid on work.”
“It was a business decision,” Hambrose said.
Currently, Elkton is evaluating bids from Republic Services, Trash Tech and Waste Industries.
In comparison to the $773,000 Elkton was paying Waste Management per year:
- Republic Services’ submitted bid costs an average of $1,759,372 a year.
- Trash Tech’s submitted bid costs an average of $1,389,915.69 a year.
- Waste Industries’ submitted bid costs an average of $1,289,106 a year.
Each of the bids include two 96 gallon trash and recycling toters for residents — something the Waste Management contract did not offer and a major reason for the increased costs.
Elkton officials are still in the process of sorting through the three bids and have not proposed a recommendation to award a contract. If there is an increase in the cost of trash services within Elkton, officials say they will work to figure out how to implement the cost increase so that residents are not stuck with too large of a bill.
Published: August 25, 2023
https://www.cecildaily.com/news/elkton-to-convert-trash-and-recycling-services-to-same-day-pick-up/article_15a6b4c7-2059-583f-ab2d-44b48dfd17ae.html
Elkton signs new trash contract, doubling water and sewer bills
ELKTON — Elkton residents will notice an increase in the trash services section of their water and sewer bill after the Elkton Mayor and Commissioners recommended unanimous approval for the town to start a five year contract with Republic Services.
Currently, Elkton residents pay $36 quarterly for trash collection which is about $12 a month. During the first year of the new contract with Republic Services, residents will be paying $28.50 a month which is $85.50 quarterly.
Over the five years that the contract is approved for, residents will pay an average of $31.50 a month, or $94.5 quarterly for trash services.
The town’s new trash hauler comes after Waste Management — the town’s current trash collector — opted to not submit a bid to renew their services in Elkton.
The town of Elkton was paying Waste Management $773,000 a year for weekly trash and recycling collection. Waste Management and Elkton engaged in numerous discussions regarding the “stress” Elkton’s trash accumulation was having on Waste Management’s operation.
Waste Management requested that the town pay them 15 percent more to continue trash and recycling collection but the town declined, citing overall dissatisfaction with Waste Management’s services.
Now, Elkton’s trash and recycling services will be carried out by Republic Service for $1,759,372 a year — nearly $987,000 more than the town was paying Waste Management. The new contract will go into effect November 1, 2023.
“That’s just how today’s industry is,” said Director of Elkton Department of Public Works Dan Handley. “Everything is more expensive.”
With the new contract, the town will be divided into five sections instead of three, and Republic Services will be in town five days a week. Similar to Waste Management, each individual section will receive trash and recycling pick-up once a week on the same day each week.
Residents will receive a notice informing them as to what day their trash collection will be scheduled for.
Republic Services will provide each resident with two 96 gallon toters — one for trash and one for recycling. Residents must use the Republic Services-issued toters or their trash will not be collected.
All trash must be inside of a Republic Services-issued toter or it will not be picked up. Additional toters can be purchased from Republic Services for a one time fee of $14.25.
Residents can request toters smaller than 96 gallons from Republic Services.
If Elkton residents wish to have large items like chairs, mattresses, appliances, etc. picked up by Republic services, they will need to call Republic Services — not the town of Elkton — to schedule a pickup date.
“This will make bulk pickup be more efficient because it will be scheduled and picked up by one particular truck at one particular address,” said Handley.
Handley noted that previously, bulk items would be left on the curb by residents and not picked up by Waste Management — prompting the Elkton Department of Public Works to go behind Waste Management and pick up the bulk items.
“The goal is to not have the Department of Public Works involved in town trash pickup at all,” said Handley.
Prior to Nov. 1, when Republic Services begins trash collection, residents will receive all of the necessary information regarding contact information, toters, how to schedule bulk pickup and all other relevant information to the trash collection changes.
The Elkton Mayor and Commissioners discussed concerns with the new trash services and the effect it could have on Elkton’s Main Street stating that the residents and businesses on Main Street will no longer be able to just throw bags on the street because Republic Services will not pick them up.
A surface-level fix would be for the residents and business to use the 96 gallon toters like the rest of the town, but Mayor Robert Alt said that is a failure waiting to happen.
“Where are they going to put the toters? They can’t leave them on the street and they can’t bring them inside,” said Alt.
A potential alternative Alt pitched was to place dumpsters in Downtown Elkton and require residents and businesses on Main Street to walk their trash to the dumpster.
How the town will handle trash on its Main Street remains an ongoing discussion. Regardless of the outcome, Republic Services and the town of Elkton will be hosting numerous informational sessions and providing educational material to all residents regarding the changes in the town’s trash collection in the coming weeks.
Published: September 8, 2023
https://www.cecildaily.com/tncms/auth/return/?state=82a2f7fd1e364da864ec4ecf1f57d1800ac3eeed
Changes to Elkton trash services detailed by new trash hauler
ELKTON — With Elkton’s trash hauler changing from Waste Management to Republic Services, town residents will notice a bit of change in the town’s disposal operations. These changes include the toters that residents will receive, weekly bulk item pick ups and an emphasis on recycling.
TOTERS
Each Elkton household will receive two 96 gallon toters capable of holding over 300 pounds of waste. One of the toters will be for trash and the other will be for recycling.
The first toters that residents receive from Republic Services will be free of charge but additional toters can be purchased for just under $14. If a resident’s toter is damaged or missing at any time, they should call the town to have their toter replaced by Republic Services, free of charge.
All trash and recycling must be in a Republic Services-issued toter. Any trash outside of the toter or in a toter not issued by Republic Services will not be picked up.
Republic Services plans to begin delivering toters to residents on October 23. The operation is anticipated to be complete by October 27- allowing Republic Services a buffer to handle any missed residents between October 27 and when the contracted services begin on November 1, 2023.
Republic Services officials say that the reason they are only processing trash in toters they issue is because the toters will be lifted by a mechanical arm that is controlled by a single truck operator. Toters that are not designed to be processed by Republic Services could cause damage to the truck or to the toter.
On the day of trash collection, residents should place their toter in a spot out front of their residence that is close to the road or against the curb. Residents should not place their toters too close to cars or infrastructure.
If a resident’s toter is placed in a poor spot, Republic Services will process the toter and then set it in a better spot. If a resident’s toter is moved, they should continue to place the toter in that position for future pick up.
65 gallon toters are available on a first come, first serve basis as Republic Services only has 100 of them to offer.
Residents with Waste Management issued toters should hold on to them until the town determines how to dispose of them since Waste Management — the towns former trash hauler — confirmed that they will not be back to Elkton to pick up their toters.
BULK ITEM PICK UP
Originally, Republic Services said that they would do bulk pick up once a month per-household but after evaluating possible conflicts, they have decided to do bulk pick up once a week.
Residents will still need to call to schedule a date for bulk pick up, but the opportunity to do so on a weekly basis is now available.
INFORMATIONAL MATERIAL
Each of Republic Services’ four avenues of informational material will outline pick up details, collection maps, holiday information, service tips, schedules, bulk pick up information, how to contact Republic Services, recycling information and more.
The first round of information material will be door hangers that are planned to go out October 16.
The second will be informational packets inside of the toters residents receive between October 23 and October 27.
The third will be a website that residents can access from the town of Elkton’s website once it is up and the fourth will be informational mailers sent to residents periodically.
RECYCLING
With the upcoming restrictions to all waste needing to be in toters for collection, residents are strongly encouraged to recycle. By recycling, residents can save space in their 96 gallon trash toter and avoid having to pay for a second one.
Republic Services will send out more information regarding the intricacies of recycling, but a rule of thumb for all residents is what trash haulers commonly refer to as the ‘ick factor’- if something is dirty, do not recycle it unless you clean it.
Cleaning recycling can be a hassle but it is as simple as rinsing out a jar or removing the bottom portion of a pizza box.
Residents should not bag their recycling, as bags are not permitted to be processed at the recycling plant. Any dirty recycling or bagged recycling will be taken to the landfill.
Recycling and landfill dumping fees in the town of Elkton are paid for by the town’s property tax. It costs the town three times less to process one ton of recycling than it does for the town to process one ton of trash. To avoid potential tax increases, town officials say residents should begin recycling properly.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The town of Elkton along with Republic Services will host numerous informational meetings between now and the start of the five year contract on November 1, 2023. Residents with any questions or concerns are encouraged to contact the town of Elkton or attend the Mayor and Commissioners meetings.
As of now, Republic Services says they are confident that they are on track to provide quality trash and recycling collection services to the town of Elkton and that no issues will be an issue they cannot fix.
Published: September 22, 2023
