Pike's recycling is working too well

MILFORD — Having solved the problem of getting the public to recycle, Pike County now has the problem of collecting it all. At some of Pike’s busiest collection areas, the county has been unable to keep up with the volume, and townships including Milford and Dingman are complaining. Pike County Commissioners Chair Richard Caridi says the problem is two-fold. Primarily, state grant money for recycling programs that Pike received to initiate the program have dried up. “All the money’s going to Philadelphia,” he said. Pike’s trucks are aging and a needed new one, fully equipped, costs about $400,000. Based on a state court decision, the county can’t charge at the collection end, so any revenues must come from the sale of recyclables. Beyond that, Caridi says members of the vacation home and weekend population in the county haven’t been using the recycling areas thoughtfully. “People can’t discipline themselves and use it properly. They come and see the containers are full, but they don’t want to make a second trip, so they leave it laying on the ground ... It’s hard to control,” he admitted. Milford Township Supervisor Gary Williams believes non-residents may be adding to the mess. “You see New York and New Jersey plates on the cars. You can’t stop them,” he said Monday. Sewage Enforcement Officer Chris Wood has been watching traffic, too. He told the Dingman Supervisors Tuesday, “I got the licenses plate numbers of about 14 cars that left their recyclable trash on the ground which is in violation of a new ordinance.” Dingman Supervisors Chair Tom Mincer told him to just send the people a warning notice rather than issue fines, which can run as high as $1,000. Wood runs the Dingman recycling area. He’s complained about the county’s failing to pick up material in a timely fashion. “I called the county offices and couldn’t get past the secretary. She told me it’s the same in other townships in Pike County,” Wood said. “This is an unsightly mess and it is the county’s responsibility to get it cleaned up. Our residents need to recycle responsibly and if the county can’t do their job of picking up, we need to ask them to remove the containers,” Mincer said Tuesday. Caridi said the county is considering firms to privatize the recycling operation and has had talks with local and regional firms. Waste Management, the national waste hauler, could take over the program, but if they do, all the existing county equipment would become obsolete. “They do a single stream pickup, everything is picked up in the same container and then sorted later,” he said. Sullivan County, N.Y., uses a similar system, employing prisoners to sort various recyclable materials at a sorting center located at the county landfill. There are central county recycling centers but not in Pike. Dingman Vice-Chairman Dennis Brink wants county officials to get a first-hand look at the problem. “We ought to have the county put a central recycling center like the townships have ... behind the courthouse in Milford. That way the county officials will see the mess we have here.” Milford Supervisors Chair Don Quick has questions about privatizing. “I’m not so sure I’m in favor of a private firm conducting business on township property,” he said. “Maybe (the county) should move their bins when they move to Bennett Avenue,” Quick suggested. Noting that there is no revenue in it for the township, the supervisors compared the operation to the clothing bin located at the township building, whose operators pay Milford $2,000 annually. Quick admitted that the recycling program has value, noting that problem roadside dumping has been greatly reduced. “We’re trying to be proactive, but we’ve never seen anything from Pike County. I don’t know how the system works. Maybe they could explain it,” he said. Caridi admitted that there are no real short-term solutions in sight. The commissioners are meeting with another candidate firm to take over the recycling later this month. In addition to the large volume, the county is currently down one truck driver. “The trucks are running seven-days, but the word gets around (about planning for privitization) and it’s hard to go out and hire when someone knows the job may only last a couple months,” he said.