Quick Take:
Palmyra residents shared their concerns about the increased cost and larger trash cans coming with the new refuse and recycling bid during the borough council's Sept. 24 meeting.
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Palmyra Borough Council heard concerns from multiple residents during the Sept. 24 meeting about the refuse and recycling bid approved two weeks ago.
Read More: Palmyra council accepts trash bid that includes 96-gallon carts for residents
The new bid will provide residents with a trash can, raise costs by $23 per quarter, and eliminate the single-bag program used by 61 residents throughout the borough.
Elaine Kreiser is one of those residents who uses the single-bag program. She said she lives alone and doesn’t generate much trash.
She uses a walker and said she puts her trash can on the seat to roll it to the curb. Kreiser addressed the council to share her support for the single-bag option.
“I can’t handle them bins and we’re supposed to be responsible for them. I can’t be responsible for something that’s bigger than what I’m able to handle,” Kreiser said. “It’s harder for me, and I’m sure there are other people that are handicapped.”
Borough manager Roger Powl said he has heard multiple concerns from older residents about the larger carts, and he’s looking into ways to help them.
“I’m working on a couple ideas,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s going to work.”
He said there are a few smaller carts available, but he will need to sort out how to distribute the right sizes to households.
Palmyra resident Greg Reed also addressed council, noting he was opposed to the borough switching to a private contractor years ago and thinks keeping garbage trucks and workers would have saved money over time.
“If they would have stayed, this whole thing would be a lot cheaper than getting a contract every two and three years,” Reed said. “I think, in the long run, it would be cheaper if you would have kept the people here.
Powl said he hasn’t run the numbers, so he isn’t positive if it would have been cheaper if they kept the borough-run service.
However, he said there were many costs under the old system, especially regarding the trucks and equipment. Also, when workers called in sick, other public works tasks had to be canceled to ensure trash and recycling were picked up.
“We were basically running our own trash company, and we had to do it every day,” Powl said. “Our public works department has evolved to being able to do a lot more things now where before we couldn’t do anything because we had to do trash every day. It was basically like running a trash company — it was maddening.”
He said other municipalities are also using private contractors to collect trash rather than running their own collection services.
In other business, council approved the purchase of a new 2024 Chevrolet pickup truck with a snowplow package from Klick Lewis for $62,000. Powl said the borough is looking to sell the current vehicle, and he is hoping to get about $5,000 to $10,000 for it — which will go toward the new truck.
Palmyra Borough Council will meet next at 325 S. Railroad St. on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.
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