Rising leaf-disposal costs force Tenafly to weigh composting, trucking or resident pickup

Town staff told the council state stormwater rules and updated load estimates make operating a local leaf-composting facility expensive and potentially infeasible at the current site. "We looked at this... a capital project was gonna be in excess of 1,000,000, maybe 1,000,000 and $0.5, and then the operating variables could be anywhere from 200,000 to 500,000 a year," the administrator said, summarizing prior contractor estimates and current budget implications.

The borough's recycling center site is about 3.5 acres and under current guidelines can handle roughly 9,000 cubic yards of leaves; staff reported Tenafly collected about 16,000 cubic yards in a recent season (compacted form), leaving a shortfall that would require trucking or a larger site. Council discussed options including requiring contractors to compact loads better, purchasing borough equipment to truck leaves out, negotiating regional sharing if a suitable site exists, or shifting collection responsibility toward residents (bagging or tax incentives). Members also emphasized public outreach and a newsletter survey before changing service levels.

Council asked staff to: (1) check whether other borough properties could host a permitted composting site; (2) assess capital and operating costs for a permitted facility versus purchasing equipment to truck leaves out; and (3) revise bid specifications to require better compaction from contractors. No final policy change was adopted at the meeting.