The company, which operates out of York, collects all of Elizabethtown's waste, including trash, newspapers, bottles, cans and seasonal items like Christmas trees.
The borough produced 58.37 tons of recycling waste in the month of October alone, and Elizabethtown residents pay only an estimated fifty cents per household per week, according to Scott Wagner at Penn Waste.
Of the $2.75 area residents pay for their weekly trash bags, about one quarter of that money goes towards recycling costs.
"The amount we were able to recycle [in 2001] was about 23.5 percent of the total waste that we disposed of," Roni Ryan, Director of Community Development for Elizabethtown Borough, said. "It's about 24 percent recycling."
Regular trash is collected in one truck, and the recycling in another. The recycling truck is compartmentalized to separate paper recyclables from cans and bottles. Cans and bottles are then separated at Penn Waste's facility, by being put through a sorting machine.
The trash and recycling system will remain in place at least one more year, but the Borough Council is looking at other options for 2004.
Elizabethtown and Carlisle are the only two area communities that use a "pay as you throw" program, which is designed to encourage recycling and reductions in waste.
The borough administration has expressed disinterest in continuing the management of the program due to cost and administrative hours. It is possible that a traditional trash program with a private company would provide more benefits at a lower cost for residents.
West Donegal and Mount Joy have expressed interest in exploring a regional trash program, since having three municipalities in one contract could lower the price of service. – Elizabethtown (Pa.) Chronicle