Penn Waste Solid Waste and Recycling Contracts Information

For questions or issues regarding all Penn Waste services, including bulk item scheduling, please call 717-657-5617 or email utilities@lowerpaxton-pa.gov.

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CURBSIDE SOLID WASTE & RECYCLING COLLECTION

Lower Paxton Township's new trash and recycling contract with Penn Waste began on July 1, 2023.


Residents will see NO CHANGE in their regular weekly collection day.

Links to additional information:

Yard waste collection - every week between April and December

Yard waste is collected every week, between April and December on the same day as your trash and recycling. Please remember, grass clippings, fruits & veggies, tree stumps, and dirt & stones ARE NOT allowed as part of the yard waste collection.

2026 Penn Waste collection schedule

2024-Lower-Paxton-yard waste guidelines

Please remember to properly space your trash cans and do not put materials between them or to the side

  • Residents are required to use the trash and recycling bins provided by Penn Waste. Also, please leave proper space between the bins and with the pickup bar facing the street.
  • All trash bags must be in the bin and carboard boxes and other recyclables must be broken down and put into the recycling bin. DO NOT PLACE ANY RECYCLABLES, SUCH AS CARBOARD BOXES, OUTSIDE THE BIN.

cart spacing graphic larger

Help is available for those who are physically unable to roll the new waste and recycling carts.

Penn Waste will assist residents who can certify they have a disability under the ADA of 1990, are unable to maneuver the carts, and that there is no one else in residence capable of assisting them.

Residents must also submit a copy of a physician's statement attesting to their inability to move the carts. For qualifying residents, Penn Waste will take the cart from the home to the vehicle for unloading and then return the cart to the same storage location.

Automatic withdrawal (ACH): An easy way to pay your bill

  • Under the new contract, the Township assumed responsibility for all billing, collection and customer service administration, saving each resident $100 per year versus Penn Waste's bid cost to provide those services.
  • There is NO FEE to pay your Sewer, Storm Water, and Refuse bill via auto ACH payments! To sign up, complete the form on the back of your bill and include a voided check or required bank document.
  • ACH payments occur on the 1st of the month or the following business weekday: February, May, August, and November.
  • For more information about making payments via automatic withdrawal/ACH, click here

Why Lower Paxton has a new contract and hauler

Locally and throughout the country, higher fuel prices and increased labor costs cited by waste haulers are causing trash collection rates to spike, with many municipalities seeing costs to their residents double - or more.

  • The current Penn Waste contract started on July 1, 2023..

In 2022, for example, Middle Paxton Township's collection rate nearly doubled to $600 per year and Derry Township saw an 89.7 percent trash increase to $113.85 per quarter. This year, residents in New Cumberland - where only one hauler bid -- will see an 80 percent increase to $90 per quarter.

Automated trash collection becoming the norm

A consequence of higher labor costs is that many haulers are moving away from so-called manual collection, where either bags or trash bags are collected by hand.

Instead, "automated collection" is increasingly becoming the only option, where residents use standardized wheeled carts. These carts have a metal bar allowing them to be picked up by a side-mounted arm, which dumps them in the truck.

Lower Paxton's situation

The Township's five-year contract with Waste Management ended this year. Waste Management refused to extend the agreement, under which residents pay $67/quarter.

Township staff bid the contract with various options and with the intent to keep the current level of service, including weekly bulk collection and yard and leaf waste pickup.

Three haulers bid on the new contract: Waste Management, Penn Waste, and Republic Services.  

  • Penn Waste was the low bidder, and by law, the township is required to approve the lowest responsible bid.

Below are comparisons of the three bids received, and to see and download the full PowerPoint presentation about the bids, click here. The green column to the right shows Penn Waste was the lowest responsible bidder for both municipal waste and recycling collection.

msw bid comparison

recycling bid comparisons

Penn Waste's contract 

Penn Waste's five-year contract maintains a similar level of service, including bi-weekly leaf waste collection, weekly bulk-item collection (pre-scheduled), and weekly recycling collection. All three companies only bid on automated collection, requiring residents to use the kind of trash carts provided by the hauler.

Billing

Neither Waste Management nor Republic was willing to handle billing as part of the contract. Penn Waste offered to handle billing at an additional cost of $30/quarter.

  • To lower costs for residents, the Township will handle billing in-house, which will only cost $5/quarter - a $25 savings over Penn Waste's proposal.

Delinquent waste fees are collected by a third party, Portnoff Law Associates. The Penn Waste contract has the following quarterly rates:Screenshot 2023-04-11 171558

Please note the above rates do not include the additional $5 billing processing cost.

About the trash carts residents will receive

As previously noted, all three companies that bid on Lower Paxton's waste removal contract only bid on the automated collection, requiring specific carts.

Initially, all residents will receive two 96-gallon carts - one for recycling and the other for trash (the cart can accommodate over 7 standard 13-gallon household trash bags). We realize that some households may not have a garage or other space to conveniently store the bins, so after the contract begins in July, residents can switch to a 65-gallon cart.

Periodically, the township receives complaints about torn bags spilling trash in neighborhoods. Switching to these new carts - which all haulers required - provides homes with a sturdy container with an attached lid that should lessen the issue of spilled trash on collection days.

Recycling 

Pennsylvania law requires municipalities of Lower Paxton's size to provide recycling collection. Part of Penn Waste's low bid includes giving the Township a 10 percent discount awarding waste and recycling collection to the company. The cost of hiring additional staff and equipment to bring recycling in-house is cost prohibitive.

Bulk pickup and yard waste 

The cost of continuing bulk pickup and yard waste collection is not a primary cost driver in the proposed contract - each service is less than $4/quarter for much of the agreement, rising to $4.17 in 2027. A concern is that eliminating bulk collection could lead to illegal dumping, and, as with recycling, expanding the Township's Composing Facility to handle all residential yard waste would be cost-prohibitive.