Information Session Planned For Trash System Change In Chatham

CHATHAM, NJ — Chatham Borough has scheduled an information session about the upcoming fee change for garbage collection, which is set to take effect next year.

The information session will be held on Tuesday, May 9, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Borough Hall in the Council Chambers.

The detailed meeting will also include feedback from the vendor who will supply the various-sized garbage bins as well as DPW personnel. According to Council member Jocelyn Mathiasen, there will also be plenty of time for questions and answers at the meeting.

Due to a number of issues with the borough's green bag program, officials said the garbage collection program will soon undergo several changes.

Those changes include:

• Green bags will not be required to dispose of trash.
• Residents will instead dispose of their trash in borough-provided garbage containers.
• Garbage collection will be once per week instead of twice per week.
• Residents’ solid waste bills will be based on the size of the garbage container that they select.

In just three years, the cost of the green-bag collection program has increased by over 70 percent. Other issues that the borough has identified with the current program include the current labor shortage, safety concerns with manual garbage collection, difficulties with the supply and quality of green bags and the risk of animals getting into those bags.

In a survey given to all residents, 70 percent of those who responded agreed that the borough should discontinue the green bag program if it costs more than an alternative option.

At the April 10 Chatham Borough Council meeting, Mathiasen gave an update on the upcoming fee change for garbage collection. Under the new system, a 64-gallon garbage bin would cost $482, versus $564 with green bags. The smallest bin, which holds 35 gallons, would cost $259 instead of $374.

A separate category was also created with the borough's senior citizens in mind, according to Mathiasen. Under the senior category, a senior who uses the 35-gallon bin every other week would pay $130 for the entire year.

Residents are currently billed annually for solid waste and quarterly for water and sewer. The borough is considering a quarterly billing program in which residents would receive a single bill with three sections: water, sewer and solid waste.

This would eliminate the borough's need to bill residents separately for solid waste and allow residents to pay this bill quarterly rather than once a year.

Monthly bulk waste collection will continue as normal, officials said.

The bulk program has always had restrictions, but they haven't been strictly enforced in recent years, the borough said. Due to rising disposal costs, the borough has asked the vendor to strictly enforce existing bulk limitations and only pick up what is permitted under the bulk program.

Officials expect the new garbage system to be operational in 2024.