Trash rates to double under 5-year pact

LOWER POTTSGROVE » Township residents will get a whole truckload of sticker shock when the trash bills start to arrive two years from now.

Last week, the township commissioners adopted a five-year $1.2 million contract with J.P. Mascaro and Sons that contains a 59% rate hike in 2022.

But the biggest hike will come from 2021 to 2022 when the annual rate per house climbs from $149.77 to $238.67.

“We were just as surprised as anyone else,” said Township Manager Ed Wagner. “After that the increases kind of level out.”

The township is in the fourth year of a five-year contract with Mascaro and got an early start on putting out bids for a new contract. But, like with so many things that have changed since the coronavirus pandemic hit, the municipal trash market is not what it used to be.

The culprit is two-fold, according to Wagner.

Mascaro officials told the township commissioners there has been a 24- percent increase in the volume of trash collected since the coronavirus pandemic kept more people at home, according to Wagner.

Also problematic, Wagner said the board was told, is the shallowing out of the market for recycled materials, which has bottomed out largely since China stopped buying them.

As a result, when Lower Pottsgrove put out its request for bids, Mascaro was the only bidder.

“Wewere just as surprised as anyone else. After that the increases kind of level out.” — Township Manager Ed Wagner

“Waste Management refused to bid,” and the township received no bids from other area haulers like A.J. Blosenski, Advance and Whitetail Disposal, Wagner said.

The township offered bidders two options, a three-year contract with the option to add on two more years, similar to the one now in place, or a five-year contract.

“That was the only option we received a bid for,” Wagner said.

The new contract may also contribute to higher taxes. In addition to what residents pay directly, the township general fund, which is fueled by property taxes, covers about one-third of the cost.

Under the new pact, the cost to the general fund will increase from $282,409 contributed this year, to $475,504 in 2025, according to a report in the Sanatoga Post.

Had the commissioners decided to enact the final year of the current contract and try for new bids, the prices would likely climb even higher Mascaro officials told the board.

“Other municipalities are seeing even higher jumps. I understand the price in Norristown is going up 70 percent,” Wagner said.