Move comes after rocky relationship with waste company
Starting in April, Palmyra residents’ trash will be collected on Tuesdays instead of Fridays.
The change is a result of the borough’s new $1.1 million contract with Republic Services, a waste company that has offices in Mt. Laurel, according to a post on the municipality’s website.
Mayor Michelle Arnold said the borough is looking forward to working with a different company after a difficult relationship with Central Jersey Waste & Recycling, Inc., the firm that has been the town’s waste contractor for the past five years.
“There were some hiccups,” Arnold said. “We tried to work it out.”
“There were streets that were missed,” she added. “There were houses that were missed.”
Arnold also said Central Jersey sometimes used traditional two-man trash trucks instead of the automated trucks called for in the contract. This led to inefficiencies and trash being left in residents’ trash carts, she said.
Representatives from Central Jersey, which is based in Ewing, did not return a request for comment.
The relationship between municipal officials and Central Jersey became so strained that Borough Council passed a resolution in 2016 calling for the town’s solicitor to review the company’s work for breach of contract, according to a post on Palmyra’s website.
Central Jersey’s last pickup is scheduled for Friday, March 30. The first collection on the new schedule will be Tuesday, April 3, according to the borough’s website. Bulk collection will remain on the first Monday of the month.
The contract with Republic Services is also for five years. Arnold said several companies expressed interest in the contract after the bidding process was opened earlier this month. Republic Services submitted the lowest, responsive bid, she said.
“We’re very excited for a new relationship with a new company,” Arnold said.
The mayor said Central Jersey was one of the other firms that submitted a bid.
Borough Council approved the contract at its meeting on Monday, March 19, Arnold said.
