The trash hauling contract for Branch Township residents expires at the end of 2024.
On Monday, township supervisors began the process of looking at their options for 2025 and going forward.
Currently, Branch Twp. uses Cassella Waste Systems, of Tremont, to collect trash.
Township Solicitor Gino DiNicola spelled out some options the supervisors have when picking their next trash hauler. He warned them that the price for this service has gone up considerably since supervisors picked a hauler.
“Everybody’s in the county is going up exponentially,” DiNicola said. “These are the times we’re living in.”
One option – one that didn’t seem to go over too favorably with supervisors – is for Branch Twp. to collect its own trash. Some Schuylkill County municipalities, like St. Clair, do that.
Another option is that the township could choose not to pick a hauler. That would leave it up to every resident and business to pick their own.
And the more likely option for Branch Township seems to be putting the job out for bid to find a suitable contractor.
That option does present some administrative headaches. Supervisor Sue Ellen Holley said Monday that billing questions currently put a burden on her. The issue seems to be the way the contract is written.
“The single vs. family … it’s a burden on me,” Holley said. “When I’m sending out the delinquents, I’m apparently now expected to go door-to-door to find out who’s single and who’s family.”
Supervisors, pursuing this route with their next trash hauling contract, voted unanimously for DiNicola to draw up bid specifications.
Holley suggested that the township consider simpler fee schedules, such as residential vs. commercial. She also believes the new contract might offer a discount on trash hauling for senior citizen residents.
DiNicola said supervisors could be opening bids and awarding a contract by October to start in January 2025.
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