Warminster Manager Calls Yard-Waste Delay 'Inexcusable'

WARMINSTER, PA — Warminster's township manager on Wednesday called the long delay of yard-waste pickup in the township "inexcusable" and said the company that provides the service has been fined.

Township Manager Gregg Schuster also said he plans to "begin investigating our options" on the township's trash and recycling contract with J.P. Mascaro & Sons.

"We apologize for the delay as it’s inexcusable that Mascaro is unable to provide this service in a timely manner," Schuster wrote Wednesday in a social media post. "They have advised us to tell everyone who still has yard waste to leave it out as they are trying to catch up."

Anyone whose pickup was missed should e-mail trash@warminsterpa.org with their address, Schuster said.

The delays came in the same week strong storms ripped through Bucks County, downing trees and limbs throughout the area.

In a letter to customers on Monday, Mascaro President Pasquale N. Mascaro said some collections were suspended because of workers not being able to show up. He said about 100 workers who live in Philadelphia weren't able to get to work because public transportation was shut down due to protests in the city.

Curfews established in the wake of the protests also made it hard for some workers to leave their homes, he said.

"J.P. Mascaro & Sons has always prided itself on providing service levels in excess of its specified contract obligations," Mascaro wrote. "The temporary suspension of yard waste collections during the week of June 1st was outside of our control due to no advance notice of the transportation shutdown and curfew issues."

Schuster said Warminster has asked the company to provide extra resources to get yard waste picked up or to provide central locations where yard waste can be dropped off. Neither was provided, he said.

"Pursuant to our contract with Mascaro, we will be fining them for missed pickups that they did not rectify in a timely manner," he said.

And, while no changes can be made until the township's contract with Mascaro ends, Schuster said he "will be looking into all options for this service."

Warminster signed a new contract with Mascaro in November 2018.