Leaf - Yard Waste Collection
November & December
During Leaf Collection there is no need to schedule as the
entire community will be serviced for Leaf and Yard Waste
Collection on the dates below:
• Yard waste includes: leaves, garden residue, shrubbery
with no dirt attached, limbs, twigs, brush and tree
trimmings, and similar items, but does not include grass
clippings or mulch.
• Yard waste must be placed in a bio-degradable paper bag.
Tree trimmings not to exceed 3 inches in diameter, brush,
limbs, twigs and shrubbery must be bundled in lengths not
to exceed 4 feet.
Saturday, November 2
Saturday, November 23
Saturday, November 9
Saturday, December 7
Saturday, November 16
No pick up on Saturday, November 30
Leaf bags are 40 cents and available at the Township Office,
Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
2020 Holidays that will delay Garbage
Service
Garbage service will be delayed by one day.
New Year’s Day
Labor Day
Christmas Day
Memorial Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Trees
Christmas tree removal is scheduled from January 2
through January 30. Place your tree at the curb during
your scheduled pick up day.
Senior Citizen Discount – Age 65 plus
Shaler Township Senior Citizens receive a 20% discount
rate on their trash service. The discount does not
include HHW and E-Waste cost. If your bill is lower
than the regular rate below, you are already receiving
the discount. Please sign up at the Shaler Township
Municipal Building. Just bring a driver’s license or photo
identification with birthdate. The 2020 Senior Rate is
$51.28.
2020 Garbage Rates
Regular Rate: $62.61*
Senior Rate: $51.28*
(*Rates do not include fuel adjustment)
E-Waste and Household Hazardous Waste
Pick Up Service
Your Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) and E-Waste
can now be collected from each home by scheduling a
pick up online at: https://ecsr.net/shaler-curbside/, by
e-mail at [email protected] or by calling: 1-866-815-0016.
THE STATE OF RECYCLING
A
lot has been said about the state of recycling and
the recycling industry over the past two years.
Some communities such as ours and nationwide
have greatly reduced the amount of items that are being
accepted for recycling – eliminating products such as all
plastics except for #1 and #2, and glass. This is due not to
indifference to the environment, but out of necessity.
Single Stream: When single-stream recycling (as in, all
recyclable materials go in the same bin and are separated
at the processing plant) first came about roughly 20 years
ago, the processing and recovery plants needed vast
quantities of items to make money to operate. This led
to catchphrases such as “When in doubt, recycle it” being
popular. It also led to what some term “wishcycling” –
throwing stuff out in recycling bins hoping that they are
recyclable.
Contamination: In large part due to this, nearly 25
percent of items in recycling containers in the region
is made up of what the industry calls “contamination”
or “residue” – items that do not belong in the recycling
48
SHALER
stream (plastic bags, pizza boxes, lower-quality plastics,
items contaminated with food or grease). The presence
of this contamination effectively has led to the bottom
dropping out of the recycling industry. Stories abound
of buyers forcing processors to take back contaminated
materials (at the processor’s expense) and of loads of
recyclables going to the landfill due to excess residue.
China (who previously bought large amounts of
recyclables from U.S. processors) has banned the import of
different types of recyclable materials and has introduced
stringent contamination standards. Meanwhile, the
Chinese have been working hard to increase the amount
of recyclables they recover domestically – suggesting that
these policies will be long-term.
Recycle valuable materials: Township residents can
work to make sure we are providing the most valuable
recovered materials – clean and dry aluminum and
tin cans, plastics #1 and #2 and cardboard (preferably
flattened and compacted) – that easily may be processed
and put to market.