Curbside Recycling May Be Expanded in East Hanover

The East Hanover Township Council will vote on a resolution extending the township's existing contract for curbside collection of recycleables when they meet Tuesday.

Recycling collection is a shared service between the township and the Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority (MCMUA). Currently, the MCMUA collects recycling every other Wednesday.

Mayor Joseph Pannullo said the contract has to be renewed by a council vote "every couple of years." The township and the county "split the difference in what is picked up, and the county takes care of funding from what we make from the recycling," Pannullo said.

The MCMUA collects commingled aluminum and tin cans, glass bottles and jars and No. 1 and 2 plastic containers, if the containers are rinsed and the caps are thrown away separately.

Residents can also recycle newspapers, including the inserts printed on gloss paper, and other mixed paper such as magazines, junk mail, paperback books and phone books.

Human Trafficking

Also on the agenda is a resolution formalizing the council's support for New Jersey bill AJR-56, a bill which, if approved, would designate Jan. 11 as "Human Trafficking Awareness Day." 

Pannullo said he received notice that the bill will make an appearance in the state legislature soon.

"We're just showing our support for that. Naturally anybody with any common sense would be opposed to any kind of human trafficking," Pannullo said. "We live in the greatest country in the world, but there are still things that happen that shouldn't."

Jersey Cares

Pannullo also hopes the council will approve the town's first Jersey Cares Coat Drive in time for residents to donate unwanted, gently-used coats to the needy.

"I'll be introducing it to the council [as a discussion item], and I hope we get a vote on it," Pannullo said. "I hope this is going to be the first of many years we participate with them."

The East Hanover Township Council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the East Hanover Municipal Building. A full copy of the agenda can be found in the Photos & Documents section of this article.