Study finds South Whitehall has high trash rate; staff recommends rebalancing routes and one-cart limit

Township staff presented an independent rate-benchmarking and collection-scenario analysis on March 5 that found South Whitehall’s monthly solid-waste charge is among the highest in the local peer group but reflects a higher baseline service level that includes two trash toters and weekly recycling.

The study found collection routes average about 10 hours per day, exceeding an industry best-practice target of eight hours, and identified an unbalanced workload across collection days. Staff recommended rebalancing routes to even out workload and, for efficiency, considering a one-cart-per-household policy as part of specifications for the next contract. Two collection-scenario variants were outlined: dedicating trucks to single-material collection and a one-cart approach with different route configurations to accommodate future growth.

Township Manager Tom Petrucci told the board the study shows the township’s program delivers higher service levels than some peers and that contractual escalation clauses in the current contract are already built into resident fees. He said route balancing and specification changes should be considered before the next contract goes to bid and that staff will pursue that work in advance of the 2028 contract end.

Commissioners generally welcomed the analysis as timely preparation for future contracting and acknowledged the broader market pressures driving rate increases countywide. Staff noted yard-waste handling was not included in this study and that a grant-funded follow-up study might be pursued to examine additional components.

Next steps: staff will use the study findings to guide specification and route adjustments before the next solicitation.