New Restrictions For Morristown's Recycling Services Introduced

MORRISTOWN, NJ — More changes to Morristown's waste disposal may be on the way, according to two new ordinances introduced at the April 25 council meeting.

The town's solid waste management ordinance revisions were also a topic of conversation among the council members. That explained how moving forward, Lake Road Recycling Center will only accept materials from residents under the changes if the amendment passes.

If the proposed amendment is passed, schools, institutions, hospitals and businesses will be required to hire recycling services.

Morristown's Lake Road Recycling Center, located at 90 Lake Road, is currently open to all Morristown residents, businesses, governments and institutions. Drop-off for all recycling materials is currently free during business hours, and only proof of Morristown residency is required.

According to Town Administrator Jillian Barrick, the proposed revisions are motivated by the fact that the recycling center, which was once profitable, has been closed for some time.

"Our costs for recycling simply are astronomical. Even as recently as eight years ago, we used to make money on what we sell… and it is now costing us money to dispose of this waste and we simply cannot continue to sustain doing that at Lake Road," Barrick said.

Other municipalities limit their recycling collection centers to only residents, something that Morristown is looking to follow.

"It's time for us to restrict the use of Lake Road now," Barrick said.

According to Barrick, most large businesses in town have contracts for sanitation collection and those who don't can "simply contract for recycling collection along with their regular sanitation."

The cost of providing those recycling services is one that the town cannot continue to bear, as there is no reduction in sight.

"In 2014, we used to make $3 a ton. It’s now costing us $120 a ton. For cardboard, in 2015 we used to make $50 a ton. Now it’s costing us $35 a ton… Not to mention that cost of transportation of those goods keeps going up year after year," Barrick said. "The recycling market is very volatile. We do not see or expect costs to go down anytime soon, so this is one of the ways that we can limit the costs to our taxpayers," she continued.

The proposed amendment also tightens up language regarding trash bagging, now requiring trash to be placed on the curb in "garbage containers with a tightly secured lid."

The Morristown Town Council approved the code change in December, but some residents claim that communication about the change could have been handled better. At the April 11 town council meeting, one resident spoke out against the code, claiming that enforcing it would result in a large number of people appearing in court.

"We know that there have been some questions, so we wanted to make sure to clean up any leftover remote ambiguity that anyone could possibly raise," Barrick said. "While we’re taking the opportunity to make the change with Lake Road, we took the opportunity to clean up the language as well," she said.