Politics & Government

Future Sanitation Awarded New Garbage Contract in Manalapan

Expect to see a Future Sanitation garbage trucks starting Jan. 1, picking up garbage twice a week and recycling once every two weeks.

Future Sanitation has been awarded a two-year contract as the new garbage collector for Manalapan Township. The Township Committee decided to keep the same structure of collection, twice a week garbage pick-up and once every two weeks recycling pick-up, and Future Sanitation was the lowest bidder for that option, offering $1,213,500.

The current contract with Waste Management expires on Dec. 31, and by law the township had to go out for bid. Four companies responded with bids to various options: Future Sanitation, Waste Management, Marpal Disposal and Central Jersey Waste. The Township Committee held a and posted the garbage options and presentation on their Web site.

According to New Jersey Local Public Contracts Law, the governing body must award the contract to the lowest apparent bidder. A company cannot be individually assessed on its merit or reputation, something Mayor Andrew Lucas mentioned was “unfortunate” since he received feedback from residents that were happy with the service of Marpal Disposal and Central Jersey Waste in the past.

The Chief Financial Officer of Future Sanitation, Anthony Castellano, fielded questions from the mayor and members of the Township Committee about the company at the beginning of the Township Committee meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 9.

Future Sanitation has never served a community as large in square mileage as Manalapan Township, but has served Bloomfield Township, which has a greater population by about 15,000, Castellano said.

The company does not see any forseeable systemic problems with serving Manalapan Township, and Castellano said that their headquarters in Farmingdale has plenty of space to store the five or six trucks needed to collect in Manalapan.

One concern the committee members vocalized was the line of communication between the company and the residents. Currently, the Department of Public Works fields all complaints regarding Waste Management. Castellano said his company would adhere to whatever guidelines the township wants to follow and assured an open and direct line to the company, including cell phone numbers of workers there.

Castellano said that in the beginning the company plans on overloading their labor to eliminate any problems during the transition period. This could mean they would hire more people or use more trucks.

The trucks at Future Sanitation are equipped with spill kits, a pan and broom, and a GPS device that monitors where the trucks are on their route. Each truck will be given a specific route that it handles every day; the trucks should be able to get everything collected within eight hours, Castellano said, beginning at 6 a.m.

Deputy Mayor Ryan Green said that he supported keeping the garbage collection status quo because a lot of the feedback he received from residents, at the Town Hall and afterwards, favored that option.

“Garbage is something that effects our daily lives, and this decision will effect our daily lives,” Green said. “I would really encourage the governing body to listen to the people.”

While recycling is an issue in the township (Manalapan is one of the lowest recycling towns in the county), Green said he did not think that switching to once-a-week garbage would solve that issue immediately, and that the change would be “too jarring”.

Mayor Andrew Lucas vocalized his doubts about awarding the contract to Future Sanitation because upon calling towns served by the company for a referral he was given questionable reviews. Lucas said he was also upset that Castellano from Future Sanitation was not able to make specific guarantees to the township when questioned.

Upon discussion with Township Attorney Roger McLaughlin, he said that based on the law the township has to award the contract to Future Sanitation since they are the lowest bidder and are capable of fulfilling what the contract stipulates.

“We are excited about the contract, we do plan to do an excellent job, we are completely outfitted and ready to start this on the due date,” Castellano said. “We are very confident with this contract.”

All of the Township Committee voted to award Future Sanitation the contract, with Lucas prefacing his ‘yes’ vote with, “I hope I’m not going to regret this…”


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