Trash Service Q&A Trash Service Q&A

Trash Service Q&A

Who is my new hauler?

Republic Services was the lowest bid and was awarded the contract by the Board of Supervisors, since 2023.

What is the bid process?

We are required to bid for waste hauler service after finishing the 3 years of our contract with Waste Management There was an option to extend the contract but Waste Management rejected our request to do so. This required us to go out for bids in October of 2022.
All the regional, LCSWMA qualified waste haulers were invited to bid. Only 5 elected to attend the mandatory pre-bid conference. Of those 5, only 4 submitted bids at our bid opening on November 3, 2022.
Next bid year is either 2027 or 2028, depending if both the hauler and Township agrees to another extended year of service.

What is changing in 2026?

Annual billing rate is $344.00 in 2026.
Collection day is Tuesday in the Township.
Trash and recycling will be picked up by separate trucks. Republic does not use split-body trucks.

Do residents receive a discount?

Yes, if a resident pays their entire annual billing rate by January 31st, they will receive a $20.00 discount.

What days will our trash be collected?

When do I put my trash out curbside?

Residents should have their trash, yard waste, and recyclables on the curb the evening before (if possible) or no later than 5:00 a.m. on trash day.

Why would the trash rate increase?

Of the qualified bids received, the high bid (Waste Management) represented a 76.3% increase in our yearly per unit cost. The low bid (Republic Services) represented a 56.2% increase in our yearly per unit collection cost. While this is rather shocking to say the least, it is aligned with what has been happening across the county this year with other municipalities who were also required to bid this year.
In addition to the increase in waste hauler charges, LCSWMA raised their tipping fee by 14%. These two cost increases taken together brings us to the 42.6% increase mentioned above.
Current inflationary forces of increased fuel costs and scarce labor are the main factors contributing to these large increases. Waste haulers are dealing with in some cases a 95% increase in their cost for diesel fuel over what they paid at the beginning of 2021.
The cost of labor has also increased due to the current labor shortage coming out of the pandemic.

Can the Township terminate trash service and allow individual residents to contract on their own for trash service?

Yes, however, it would lead to even higher hauling costs for an individual resident services.
By grouping all residents together, the township can purchase waste hauler services at a lower per unit cost than an individual resident could ever hope to in the private market. An informal survey of residents in townships where residents contract individually for trash service showed that most if not all are currently paying at least $400 or more per year for waste hauling services.
Additionally, by contracting with a hauler, we can determine and limit the number of days that garbage trucks are traveling on township roadways. In townships where residents contract on their own, garbage trucks and garbage sitting at the roadsides are visible every day of the week within those townships.

Can I put out more trash than the bins received from Republic Services?

Yes, residents will need to purchase "extra trash tags" from the Township. Each extra bag 32-gal bag will need a tag and must be visible to the driver. Tags are a one-time use. Cannot be placed on other trash toters or cans.
Yellow tags: For additional 32-gallon bag, weighing no more than 30 pounds.
Yellow tag sheets are 4 tags per sheet and are available for purchased at the Township office.

Will the hauler continue to pick up oversized large items?

Yes, the Township will continue to offer pickup for oversized items.
Red Tags: For oversized items which include furniture, carpet, microwaves, etc. No more than two oversized items will be picked up at any one residence each week. Call the Township office to let us know when you are placing items curbside, with questions, or to determine if a specific item is allowed. For larger items i.e., a sofa, we ask that more than one red tag be used based on its seat capacity.
Red tags can be purchased and scheduled at the Township office by the Thursday before 2:30 PM the week prior to collection day the following week.

Do you offer White Good (appliances) items pickup?

Yes, the Township will continue to offer pickup twice a year in April and October. Date can be found on our website calendar and in our bi-annual newsletter.
White goods (appliances), dehumidifiers, and tires are not considered oversized items (See White Goods [Large Appliances], Dehumidifiers & Tires.)

Will the hauler continue to collect yard waste and leaf collection.

Yes, the hauler will continue to pickup yard waste and leave collection beginning April through the end of November every other week. See printable calendar under Services tab/ Trash & Recycling/ under Resources/ find the printable pdf trash calendar.
All yard waste, leaves, etc. must be placed in a Kraft bag available at the Township office. Do not leave these bags outside in the elements prior to the biweekly pick up. Cover them with tarps or plastic or keep them in a dry place. Our hauler will not pick up deplorable or damaged bags. Additional information can be found in the clip-out section of the Township newsletter.
Do NOT include grass clippings or dirt clumps in the Kraft bags. The Borough of Columbia does not accept them.
Disposing of fruit or vegetable matter from a garden is NOT considered yard waste and should not be placed in Kraft bags.
Woody waste such as branches and trunk pieces less than 3 inches in diameter will be picked up along with the yard waste as scheduled. The branches/trunk pieces must be bundled together with biodegradable twine and may not be more than 4 feet in length and each stack may not weigh more than 30 lbs. There are no additional charges for woody waste pickup.
All yard waste and woody waste must be placed curbside 5 feet from the curb or edge of roadway next to your trash and recycling. Grass clippings are NOT recyclable. Refer to the Hints and Tips section for information on Grasscycling!