MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact: Timothy T. Hartman
(Norristown) December 7, 1998 -- The Waste
System Authority (Authority) of Eastern
Montgomery County wants to get some information
out to the public in response to a misleading ad
placed in at least one local paper by waste
haulers regarding the Waste Generation Fee (WGF)
system.
Residents in Abington, Ambler, Bryn Athyn,
Cheltenham, Conshohocken, Hatboro, Jenkintown,
Lower Merion, Lower Moreland, Narberth,
Plymouth, Rockledge, Springfield, Upper Dublin,
Upper Moreland, West Conshohocken and Whitemarsh
who don't own non-residential property or
operate a business in those communities should
see little change due to the WGF. Municipalities
will still collect their residents' trash,
deliver it to the Resource Recovery Facility (RRF)
in Plymouth Township, and pay the Authority in
much the same as they currently do.
Residents in East Norriton, Horsham, Whitpain
and Upper Merion Townships and Norristown
Borough will pay approximately $100 in 1999 to
the Authority in the form of a Waste Generation
Fee. This cost has previously been charged by
your hauler to dispose of waste at the RRF. In
1999, haulers who service these areas will no
longer pay a waste disposal or
"tipping" fee to dispose of waste at
the plant. Customers should seek a reduction
from their haulers, since the property owner
will be paying the disposal fee to the
Authority. The hauler will still charge for
pickup and transportation to the system, but the
hauling company should not charge a disposal
fee.
Non-residential property owners (e.g. businesses
and non-profit organizations) should also know
that the disposal portion of their trash removal
costs will be billed directly to the property
owners. Likewise, they should seek a reduction
in their haulers' bill, because the hauler will
not be charged for disposing of their waste at
the RRF.
Unless haulers refuse to pass on the savings of
their eliminated disposal costs to their
customers, there should be no reason that any
waste generator should pay double for disposal
services. Property owners and waste generators
should demand a reduction in their trash bill to
reflect their direct payment for trash disposal.
These changes in disposal service billing are
necessary to ensure your municipalities'
obligated waste deliveries continue to go to the
RRF.