In a huge victory for Pennsylvania’s environment and public

2006 Weekender  Model Of The Year  Amber Nebesky

Men waiting for response to proposal that would allow for an unlimited number of bags.





 

 
Dave Kelley, Scott Seeherman and Paul Benderavich discuss a proposal for trash collection they say would save Laflin more than $20,000. The three presented their plan to council on Nov. 13.
 
 Times Leader Staff Photo/Fred Adams 
 



LAFLIN &ndash; Three borough residents have an idea for trash collection they say could save the borough more than $20,000.
Dave Kelley, Scott Seeherman and Paul Benderavich presented their proposal at the Nov. 13 borough council meeting, but haven&rsquo;t received any feedback from council members. 
&ldquo;Recycling is a nice thing to do, but it&rsquo;s costing the borough,&rdquo; Benderavich said. &ldquo;If Laflin eliminates or finds an alternative way to do it they will save.&rdquo;
So far the borough received two bids for trash collection with recycling: J. P. Mascaro &amp; Sons Inc., $133,680, while United Sanitation bid $110,000. Mascaro also bid $112,596 for garbage collection without recycling. 
The borough&rsquo;s current contract with Mascaro expires Jan. 31. Council will vote to approve a bid for garbage collection at the Jan. 8 meeting. 
About five months ago the citizens group began researching what it costs similar-sized municipalities that use the same contractor to collect trash. 
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve looked at contracts from Clarks Green, Hazle Township and Hazleton, and they are paying less than us and getting more service,&rdquo; Benderavich said.
Laflin residents pay $2 per bag and a yearly $50 garbage fee, which was introduced by council at the beginning of the year to help generate additional revenue to meet rising costs for trash removal. 
 The residents&rsquo; proposal for garbage service under a private hauler would cost roughly $180 a year per household. Collection would consist of an unlimited number of bags, yard waste and one large item per week. Their suggested plan, however, does not include spring cleanup or recycling. 
&ldquo;We are not against recycling; it&rsquo;s very important, but it&rsquo;s just not feasible,&rdquo; Benderavich said. &ldquo;With a population of less than 10,000, the borough is not mandated to offer recycling services. With our plan, residents can either put the recyclables in with the trash, or Exeter provides a service where they come with a Dumpster that would cost $2,400 a year which breaks down to $3.91 per house.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I have no comment on their proposal,&rdquo; Councilwoman Patricia Wallace said. &ldquo;The bids were tabled until the next meeting because we need to go over them for specifics.&rdquo; 
Wallace said that council takes residents&rsquo; input into consideration, but overall the members need to do what is feasible for Laflin. 
The three residents collected more than 350 signatures in last month&rsquo;s door-to-door campaign.
Even though their recommendation would cost $340 more than the lowest bid and does not include recycling, Kelley said it is a better plan. 
&ldquo;You have a service that is banking on if someone is going to buy garbage bags,&rdquo; Kelley said. &ldquo;People are not paying for the garbage bags; instead a good amount take their garbage elsewhere. Our plan would eliminate this.&rdquo; 
Seeherman said that he is afraid the yearly garbage fee might double and garbage bags may increase to $3 under the new budget if the borough continues with the same service provider. 
Also under the citizens&rsquo; plan, residents who use private haulers for garbage collection would be exempt from the fee as long as they show proof of the service they use. 
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s up to the borough on how to bill it,&rdquo; Kelley said. &ldquo;My opinion is to do it yearly. This is just a proposal. They (council) can do it anyway they want. We&rsquo;re not trying to down talk anyone.&rdquo;

Laflin Residents Offer Trash Plan