by Julie Fink, Gazette Staff Writer

HAMMONTON—Mayor and town council passed the first reading of an amendment to the trash collection ordinance at its March 17 meeting, significantly changing the curbside pick up for residents’ bulky waste, household items and grass, leaves and brush.
According to Councilman Anthony Marino, the proposed ordinance is a reduction in services.
“The way it sits now, it would be a reduction in services and I don’t think it will solve the problem,” he said.
“I don’t think the ordinance has been created well, as it is presented. We haven’t thought this thing out, and it could create a lot of chaos,” Councilman James Bertino said.
“It is not a reduction in services. We will still be taking leaves, curbside and bulky waste at the convenience center. It is just another way of doing it,” Councilman Edward Wuillermin said.
Marino believes the answer to the problem lies in enforcement, and that the residents would be better served if the effort was focused on ways to enforce the current laws as it relates to curbside pick up, instead of changing them.
“We need to come up with a plan that is fair to the residents, that does not increase their costs and is focused more on enforcement,” he said.
Marino’s suggestion includes having the town code enforcer focus on known problem areas and distribute warnings and subsequent fines if needed that increase with repeat offenses.
According to Wuillermin, it is not reasonable to suggest citing residents for non-compliance.
“It is problematic. For example, people are moving in and out of rental units and it is hard to catch the individuals responsible, so the person that would be cited is the innocent landlord,” he continued.
Additionally, the resources of the town code enforcer are limited.
“He is only one person,” Wuillermin said.
Adding additional staff is an expensive proposition if you examine all the costs associated with hiring even a low-entry level position, he continued.
According to Marino, the idea to make changes to the town trash collection system was brought up last year while he acted as council representative for the highway department.
“Several problems were identified by the Superintendent of Highways and we were going to have a few more meetings before it was brought to the table [of town council],” he said.
Marino would have also liked to have had some input from the public.
“Sometimes the public has better ideas than we do,” he said.
The amendment to the ordinance calls for grass, weeds and lawn clippings to be placed in biodegradable bags to be picked up curbside the first full week of the month.
This holds true for shrub, tree trimmings and garden waste, as well as, leaves.
According to Wuillermin, the bagged system was proposed to alleviate the problems with large leaf piles in the streets affecting vehicle maneuverability and visibility, as well as, causing problems with storm water drainage.
The biodegradable bags are costly and do not hold up well to moisture, Bertino said.
“I have some reservations going to a bag system. I believe it will present some problems and a disposal issue,” he said.
Bertino feels that if the bags are left out more than a week they will begin to disintegrate on the bottom.
In addition, some residents throughout town may need hundreds of bags to clean up the leaves on their properties.
“I have talked with other municipalities and do not believe this is going to work,” he continued.
From a different perspective, Wuillermin has listened to some complaints that residents are paying money to have landscapers blow the leaves curbside only to have them blow back onto their yard or their neighbors.
The question comes down to efficiency of pickup, he said.
According to Wuillermin, the current system of leaf pick up is uncoordinated throughout town.
“It is sort of a ‘Helter Skelter,’ or random, pickup. It is hard to do that and efficiently clean up. Having the bags is one way to help that,” he said.
Wuillermin noted the suggestion of the coordination of picking up leaves, separating the town into quadrants and picking them up on quadrant-by-quadrant basis.
“This of course would require everyone’s cooperation, residents and landscapers,” he said.
Bertino’s suggestion included purchasing a separate toter for residents to use for grass clippings in which the automated truck can still be utilized.
With the bagged system we will be going back to using the old trash truck, he continued.
As the ordinance relates to bulky trash pick up, it will no longer be accepted curbside. Residents will be required to dispose of household furniture, appliances, beds, building debris and other bulky items at the town’s convenience center located on Eighth Street.
“This is a way to keep the town from looking excessively trash laden,” Wuillermin said.
Residents are placing bulky trash items curbside at anytime, despite the notice that it is picked up the first full week of the month, Wuillermin continued.
Marino was concerned about the convenience center’s operating hours.
“The dump will have to be made more accessible if they are going to push this thing through,” he said.
This would be an additional expenditure in order to have an attendant at the convenience center, he continued.
Additionally, Marino felt this would cause a problem for the elderly residents and those who do not have access to a truck for drop off.
“Things need to be straightened out. We need to put more time into it before we turn around and vote on it,” Marino said.
Bertino’s hope is that council will reconsider the ordinance.
“If we could change it and fix some of the issues, I would feel more comfortable with it,” he said.
Wuillermin was open to having a public hearing and encouraged people to bring ideas to the table.
“We are receptive to any ideas,” he said.
Superintendent of Highways Lance Schiernbeck opted to not comment until a meeting is held with the public works department to discuss the proposed changes.
A meeting is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, April 3, according to Schiernbeck.