Message from Mayor Josh Losardo | June 10, 2021

I have been receiving inquiries about our new recycling contractor and the reliability of its pick-up schedule.

I asked the Township Administration to work with the contractor to address any concerns. In response, I was informed that the recycler will now be picking up everyone’s recycling once a week, rather than once every other week. This will be done, I was assured, at no additional cost to the Township.

While I hope this solution quickly ends any issues, I do want to spend a moment explaining our recycling contract and what has happened in recent years. You may be unaware that the country is going through a recycling crisis, fueled by China’s decision several years ago to ban the import of plastics from the rest of the world.

The result: The United States is generating plenty of recyclables, but there are precious few places that are accepting these items.

This has caused recycling costs to balloon in every town and county. Starting in 2019, it has been reported that Westfield saw its costs increase from $325,000 to $607,000, while New Providence’s rates soared from $130,000 to $285,000.

In Scotch Plains, our two-year recycling contract with the previous vendor – at $213,000 a year – expired at the end of 2020. To continue the collection and disposal, that company sought a $300,000 annual raise, costing Scotch Plains more than $500,000 a year, which was unacceptable.

And so the Township Administration, including our Manager, Al Mirabella, Deputy Manager, Margaret Heisey, Director of Public Works, Frank DiNizo, Fire Department Chief, John Lestarchick, and Deputy Fire Chief, Skip Paal, sought a cost-efficient replacement through the public bidding process. The lowest bid was made by our current contractor, RTS. The contractor that previously collected the township’s recycling did not bid on the contract. Scotch Plains still sustained an increase of $160,000 in costs, but obviously much less than what the town initially faced.

As we move forward with RTS, I have received a commitment that the company will do better. RTS offered to change to weekly collection – at no increase in cost to the township – to reduce the amount of recycling goods collected. And RTS has promised to work through their personnel issues that have caused some of our residents a hardship.

I appreciate the efforts of the Administration to handle this important matter and expect the weekly service to fulfill our needs.

I urge residents with any questions to contact the Administration at Town Hall at 908-322-6700.

Thank you,