Bulk Pickup is Back in Garwood, For a Price

Bulk pickup is back in Garwood, with a new opt-in program available to residents who buy an $80 permit.

The $80 permit allows for disposal of up to 750 pounds of bulk. Neighbors can also share a permit and group their waste, so long as the load stays under 750 pounds. To sign up and for detailed guidelines, see the program flyer in our gallery; it was also mailed to all residents.

The pickup is to begin June 24, after the borough-wide garage sale scheduled for June 22 and 23.

The bulk issue has been a controversial topic after the borough eliminated the free service in 2010. That cut was a budgetary one; eliminating the program would help to compensate for a loss of $126,000 in state aid. (The program cost the borough $32,500 for six pickups, three on either side of town, in 2009.)

The issue was also a major topic of discussion in the 2010 election when Mayor Patricia Quattrocchi unseated former mayor Dennis McCarthy. Several residents had expressed dissatisfaction with how the program was cut back then, as they received a notice saying only that it had been canceled but with no explanation as to why and with no suggestion of a permit program in its place.

A pilot opt-in program was proposed by McCarthy's administration at the end of 2010 and came to fruition under Quattrocchi's administration in 2011. That program offered pickup through a $55 permit and the bulk was hauled by Garwood's Department of Public Works. Wear-and-tear on DPW trucks and concerns about using DPW employees, led council to seek an outside company for the job.

Former Councilman Keith Sluka led the debate, arguing that since Garwood had gotten out of bulk pickup, it should stay out of it.

Councilmembers voted to approve this new opt-in program at their May 14 meeting.

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