Trash-collection pact could save Camden County towns nearly $1 million

A trash-disposal deal has turned into a money saver for Cherry Hill, Voorhees, Haddon Township and five other South Jersey communities. Officials from those Camden County towns Monday announced the savings they’ll reap from a new pact.

Cherry Hill currently spends about $1.3 million per year to dispose of 21,000 tons of residential solid waste. Mayor Bernie Platt said the unprecedented joint bid for municipal trash-disposal services has led to big savings. “This is a 14-month contract and we will save approximately $265,000.  When eight or nine municipalities get together and go out to bid on something, they have the power of going out as a group and this saves everybody money,” said Platt. “The total savings for all the municipalities is almost $950,000, which is nothing to sneeze at today.” Platt said he’s committed to delivering high-quality services at the lowest possible cost.

He agreed with Collingswood Mayor Jim Maley who said this kind of pact needs to expand beyond trash collection. “We can only increase our revenue by 2 percent under state law. Expenses that we can’t control–pension benefits, utility costs, all of that–is going up by more than 2 percent, so we have to change the way we’re operating in government,” Maley said. “One of the ways is to find common areas where we can make purchases and do services together to save some money.”

Maley said the anticipated savings in Collingswood will be $90,000.

The agreement is the largest of its kind in South Jersey.