Complaints About New Recycling Bins Dominate Ross Commissioners Meeting

Several Ross Commissioners admitted Monday night that they are continuing to field complaints about the new 65 gallon Waste Management recycling program which goes into effect this week.

“I’ve probably had about 40 phone calls," said Ross Commission Board President Grant Montgomery. "It's a very common topic.”

Ross resident Pat Henry decided to make her complaint face to face.

“I don’t need a 65 gallon bin to do my recycling, I’d rather bring my recyclable up here, and you can have other people to help me fill it," she told the commissioners Monday night. "I just think there needs to be other options. I have to drag mine up two flights of cement steps, I have no place to store it.  I’m on a one-way street, parking is wall to wall, I don’t know how this is going to work in my area.  And couldn’t they have done something other than green and yellow colors.. it’s god awful.”

John Dobranski is president of the Hiland Valley Town Homes Association.

“We have elderly people in our community, we have a partially blind person, we have one in a wheelchair, it’s going to be very difficult for the elderly residents to actually take out these new bins," he said. "Some of our homes have garages, others do not, and it’s a problem where to store a 65-gallon bin, so I have asked for a complete waiver for our community.”  

Mike Christ of Waste Management told the commissioners the company has already identified two streets in the township where the new bins will be taken back, and more streets may follow.

“We’re going to continue with all of the streets for now, with the exception of Pennsylvania and Beach, with the new bins," he said. "At the end of the week, we will get with operations to see where it’s not feasible, and that’s where we will go back to the traditional service. We’ll take the 65-gallon bin back, and make sure residents have the old 18-gallon bin.”

And speaking of the old, grey, 18-gallon bins -- Ross Township manager Doug Sample said residents are free to do whatever they want with them.

“They can keep them, use them anyway they want, or if they don’t want them they can bring them back to the township municipal building and will take care of them," he said. "We don’t care what they do with them.”

With one exception -- you can't put the old recycling bin inside the new one. Go figure.

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