During a recent Meet Mack Monday Zoom meeting, a former Newtown Supervisor asked “Should Newtown Township contract with one trash company for savings, efficiency, less noise and pollution?”

The discussion at the Meet Mack Monday meeting quickly moved on to how some homeowners associations have taken matters into their own hands to reduce costs and reduce noise and other pollution by hiring a single source for trash collection.

Mack's Newtown Voice · Talking Trash at 22 May 2023 Meet Mack Monday (audio podcast)

Left unanswered, however, was the question about whether it would be a good idea for the township to sign a contract with a single trash company to collect all the trash.

This survey asks your opinion...

Nine Newtown Twp residents attended this Zoom meeting, which focused on the following topics (view the presentation below...):

• Video of Opening Presentation
• Deluca Construction Project – Appeal to Board of Supervisors (BOS): The applicants are seeking to subdivide a 3.08 acre parcel at 70 Twining Bridge Road into two lots for single family homes whereas the CM District permits only one home on 3 acres. Will they succeed in getting the BOS to change its mind and NOT oppose the plan? 
• Finally! Work Recommences on Lower Dolington Rd Trail!
• Zoning “Validity Challenges”: Provco/Wawa (Combo Convenience Store/Gas Station in OR District), Kushner RE (245 Unit Apartment Building in OR District)
• Capital Grille Restaurant and Parking in Shopping Center
• Speed Limit Enforcement: Newtown-Yardley Rd
• Single-Hauler Municipal Trash Collection?
• Detailed Meeting Notes

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[Image: These photos were taken on July 13, 2022. They show how the construction materials obstruct access to Raintree/Windemere landscaping. 1 – Netting wraps around bush that is clearly on private property; 2 – Overgrown grass (access denied!); 3 – Netting obviously prevents access to plantings.]

At the July 13, 2022, Newtown Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, Supervisor Mack asked the township engineer to explain the delays in the construction of the Lower Dolington Road Trail (LDRT).

Mack noted that even further delays are ahead as the “utility conflict” is resolved. That is, underground cables must be relocated before construction of the trail can begin again. 

More that that, Mr. Mack also voiced his and residents' concerns about "abandoned" construction barriers at the intersection of LDR and Stanford Place/Road (see "Lower Dolington Road Trail Construction Barricades Are a Pedestrian Safety Concern!"; and "Lower Dolington Road Trail Trash Tour").

When the topic of accountability came up, Mr. Mack said "Six feet needed to be held to the fire. The construction company, Lumens (company responsible for moving the underground cable), and Newtown Artesian Water Company," which provided incorrect information that adversely impacted the project.

View the 11-minute video: https://youtu.be/LPyacZEBGFE

The Newtown Borough Council at its April 7 work session agreed to take the next step toward establishing a single trash hauler system for the borough.

After holding a public hearing on the potential change and soliciting input from residents, council directed its solicitor to begin drafting an amended ordinance to spell out the details.

The borough will also begin drafting a Request for Proposals that will spell out many of the issues raised by borough residents, including cost, collection days, yard waste and bulk item pickup, enforcement, etc.

“This does not automatically mean it’s a done deal,” said Council President Tara Grunde-McLaughlin. “It means we will now take the next step to determine how it will be done and how it will be structured. If we reach a point where we can’t do it the way we want to do it, we still might not make it happen. But it’s a fork in the road.”

Under a single hauler system, the borough would develop a request for proposals, which would spell out the length of the contract and the services expected, including such things as the number of regular trash pickup days per week and whether separate bulk item and yard waste pickups would be included.

The borough has not decided how billing would be done, whether it would be through the borough or directly to residents. Some municipalities bill residents directly, either as a separate quarterly bill or as part of their annual tax bill.

The borough’s Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) brought the idea of a single hauler to Council two years ago, raising concern over multiple garbage trucks rumbling through the borough on multiple days and companies consistently operating outside of their designated collection days.

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