Garbage collection company gets $4.5 million Paterson contract after criticism
By Jayed Rahman
Published: April 19, 2021
After criticizing the company for poor services, municipal officials awarded a $4.5 million contract to Suburban Disposal, also known as Roselle, for garbage collection.
Fairfield-based Suburban Disposal was awarded the $4,494,000 contract last Tuesday. Officials said they are exercising the last option year in the 2017 contract with the company.
Some members of the City Council opposed extending the contract.
Councilman Michael Jackson said Roselle sometimes fails to pick up garbage. Its workers also drop garbage on the roadways and toss receptacles all over the streets.
Councilman Alex Mendez, chairman of the public works committee, said the company has been “sloppy” in rendering service.
Both Jackson and Mendez blamed mayor Andre Sayegh’s administration for failing to hold the company accountable. But Sayegh’s chief of staff Della Fischer earlier in the month said she has been handling residents’ complaint by directly addressing them with one of the company’s owners.
Public works director William “Billy” Rodriguez said the company now has two supervisors and an owner every week in Paterson to address issues.
Mendez said Fischer’s efforts appears to be working. He said the number of complaints from residents has been going down.
Jackson wanted the city to go out to bid to hire a new company. A consultant for the city said going out to bid would likely result in 20 percent higher costs for the same service. Jackson also suggested the city buy its own trucks and hire local residents to start an in-house garbage collection program.
“Taking into consideration Covid and other situations, it was not a smart idea to go out and look for another company,” said Mendez.
The contract was approved in a 7-1 vote. Jackson was the sole vote against.
Separately, municipal officials awarded a $240,000 contract for disposal of recycled newspapers, corrugated cardboard, and commingled materials to Ewing-based Waste Management.
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