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Council debates ending borough pickup, steps to curb trash at Stop & Shop plaza
Summary
Tenafly officials discussed ending borough-paid pickup of public trash receptacles at the Stop & Shop plaza and other downtown sites, pushing enforcement and business-led consolidation as options to reduce litter and costs.
The mayoral chair opened the meeting by placing "commercial trash in the borough" as the first item on the agenda and asked staff to outline the problem. "So the 1st item to be considered is commercial trash in the borough," the Chair said, noting DPW currently services some public cans.
Council members said the most visible problems are pedestrian receptacles and unscreened dumpsters at plazas, especially near Stop & Shop. "I think it is not a strong enough ordinance," Council member Lauren said, urging clearer screening and enforcement for dumpsters; staff agreed the site-plan approvals sometimes did not cover front-of-store trash receptacles.
Members debated three parallel approaches: stop borough pickup of receptacles where those are on private property, tighten enforcement (summonses when litter is present), and encourage business consolidation or shared hauling to reduce costs. David, the administrator, urged staff outreach to the plaza property manager and to Stop & Shop to notify them that borough pickup will cease unless the businesses arrange private service. Council also asked staff to check property lines to determine where borough right-of-way ends and private property begins and to return with specific enforcement options and draft ordinance language.
During public comment, resident Andrew noted the practical risk of removing collection boxes without providing alternatives: "If you take away the food-collection waste collection receptacle, then guess what? The people will use whatever receptacle is around," he said, recommending any new ordinance clearly state who is liable for litter.
Council members directed staff to: (1) notify affected stores that borough pickup will stop in one month unless private arrangements are made; (2) consult the planning board files to confirm whether front-of-store receptacles were part of original site approvals; and (3) prepare ordinance or enforcement updates for future meetings. No formal code change was adopted at the meeting.
