Mascaro wins $8M borough trash contract
POTTSTOWN >> Borough Council unanimously awarded a new $8 million, three-year trash collection contract to J.P. Mascaro Monday night.
Mascaro has been the borough’s trash collection company for more than 10 years. The total cost of the contract is $8,141,544, according to Borough Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr.
The only other bidder for the contract was Waste Management Inc., despite several other haulers expressing earlier interest in bidding.
The new contract means quarterly bills will go up by $10.32 for individual property owners, or
or an increase of $41.28 per year.
The contract also brings back free weekly pickup of bulk items.
Residents will be able to throw away one bulk item per week at no cost. Additional items can also be put out with the usual $15 sticker.
Councilman Ryan Procsal said he had heard concerns about people from other towns bringing their bulk items to Pottstown to leave in the alleys for free disposal.
Borough Manager Justin Keller said in the years since Pottstown had unlimited bulk pickup, surrounding towns have implemented their own bulk pickups, lowering the incentive to bring it into Pottstown.
Also on hand were two representatives from J.P. Mascaro and Sons who pledged to continue working to improve their service in the borough, where complaints about missed pickups were becoming a regular feature of council meetings.
“I know there have been service issues, I won’t deny that, but over the years we’ve provided your community with good service,” said Albert DeGennaro, the company’s general counsel.
For the past several months, council has been fielding, both publicly and privately, complaints about missed pickups. Mascaro has said a tight labor market has fre- quently left them shorthanded. “Some of this year has been very bumpy, I’ve taken heat,” said Samuel Augustine, Mascaro’s director of sales and marketing.
“Communication has improved, and we will have a supervisor in the borough during every pickup. This is not just a short term fix,” he said. “Pottstown deserves the service you pay for.”
He also noted that while the quarter difference between the two bids may only add up to about $1, the cumulative difference is $100,000 less than Waste Management’s bid.
“Pottstown deserves the service you pay for.”
— Sam Augustine, Mascaro sales director