BERKELEY – A new ordinance to control bulk pickup garbage was proposed at the Township Council meeting. A councilman has expressed his concern with the bulk pickup remnants along busy roads.
“There’s been mattresses all on Route 9 for the last two weeks. We can’t give these people tickets for littering?” said Councilman James Byrnes. “They go to court, they don’t show, they push it back another month, meanwhile this crap [lies there].”
Byrne’s suggestion of issuing tickets for littering to the property owners with their trash on the street comes from his own personal experience living in Berkeley. On busy roads like Route 9, he says the garbage is hard to miss.
Mayor John Bacchione acknowledged Byrnes’ concern, but did not directly address his idea of issuing tickets and fines for littering.
“We have identified this as an issue with bulk. We are working with Public Works on remedying this situation,” Bacchione said. “It seems that when (residents) know it’s a bulk day, people put out more than they have in their house. Once the truck is filled, it has to go to the landfill and the dumps; you lose a whole day for the rest of the block. It pushes the timeline back. We’ve identified a lot of issues with this and we’re working on having a solution soon.”
Other members of the administration, including Lauren Staiger, the township attorney, expressed concerns with associating the garbage with a littering fee. Parameters that express how much can be put out on a bulk day were mentioned, but there is speculation that these parameters are being ignored.
“For mattresses and furniture to be out on Route 9, you can’t give them a littering ticket? Maybe we could look to fine these people. It’s crazy. I know there’s a code with the bulk, but isn’t there a way it comes under another statute for littering?” Byrnes said.
Staiger spoke about the regulations of issuing a ticket for littering, which do not comply with the procedure for bulk pickup. Other members of the administration argued the trash itself should not be considered littering at all.
“You do have to see the person litter as well, and you’re not going to see them putting it out,” Staiger said.
In response to questioning the interpretation of the furniture as littering, Byrnes said, “Crapping up the street, that’s littering. I have a picture of a rat under a neighbor’s house. It was like a small dog. We can’t have that. It’s not Newark.”
The mayor also said garbage trucks are being filled from outside garbage being brought to Berkeley township on bulk pickup days. He plans to address outside friends and relatives of the town’s residents bringing their trash to the streets in an attempt to control the situation.
Because the council members did not take a vote on Byrnes’ proposed idea, it was not confirmed or denied to be enacted in Berkeley Township at this time.
