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RED BANK: SWITCH ADDS COLLECTION DAYS

delisa 090315HOT-TOPIC_03With the switch to private cartage last week, all homes in Red Bank have now had at least one pickup by DeLisa Demolition of Tinton Falls, which won a three-year, $1.49 million contract for collection of trash, recyclables and household bulk waste last month.

The change, borough officials said in advance, would have been all but unnoticed by residents. But there’s a perk or two, including — as some perplexed residents may have noticed on Labor Day holiday pickups.

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RED BANK: TRASH PICKUP TO GO PRIVATE

rb trash 092414 1Two of the borough’s four garbage trucks will be sold, and the other two kept for leaf and snow removal, officials said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03Red Bank is getting out of the garbage business.

By a 4-0 vote at a special, single-issue meeting Monday night, the borough council approved a three-year, $1.49 million contract for collection of trash, recyclables and household bulk waste with a private hauler, Delisa Demolition of Tinton Falls.

But the change, effective September 1, will be all but unnoticeable to residents and small-business owners, town officials said. And it should generate “significant” savings, they contend.

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RED BANK: PRIVATE TRASH PICKUP NEARS

rb trash 092414 2No borough employees will lose jobs or benefits in the switch, Mayor Pasquale Menna said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03The end of public-sector trash collection in Red Bank could come as soon as September 1, under the terms of a contract that the borough council body discussed in private Wednesday night.

Still not quite at the end of a process it began 18 months ago, the council scheduled a special meeting for next Monday night solely to vote on the deal.

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RED BANK: PRIVATE TRASH PICKUP ON HOLD

rb trash 092414 2The Menna administration will rewrite bid specs and try again, officials said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03The Red Bank council voted Wednesday night to reject bids submitted by waste haulers aiming to take over garbage pickup for the town’s residents.

Citing inadequate savings, officials said they would rewrite bid specifications for the privatization of trash collection to include a provision that a successful bidder hire the town’s affected solid-waste employees.

The delay sparked sparked an extended and sometimes heated exchange among Republican council candidate Sean Di Somma, borough Administrator Stanley Sickels and two councilmen over what Di Somma called “foot-dragging” on an issue he believes could save taxpayers money.

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RED BANK: PRIVATE TRASH PICKUP WEIGHED

rb trash 091114The impact of a switch on jobs will be considered, borough officials said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03Bids are in, and Red Bank officials will now turn their attention to the question of whether it makes financial sense for the borough to get out of the garbage pickup business, Councilman Mike DuPont said Wednesday night.

Officials said five cartage companies submitted bids late last month in a process authorized by the council last February. The governing body’s finance committee, which DuPont heads, will now evaluate the bids “to see if we can get savings” from a switch to private cartage, he said.

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RED BANK: TRASH PICKUP MAY GO PRIVATE

rb garbage truckTrash pickups by borough employees could end this year. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank residents could see the end of local government trash pickups this year.

In a move that contemplates a switch to private cartage, the borough council authorized a solicitation of bids for garbage and recyclables collection and disposal at its bimonthly meeting Wednesday night.

The vote on the measure was 5 to 1, with Councilwoman Juanita Lewis dissenting.

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