Wayne officials seek trash options
Private pickup hauler blamed for tax increase
By: Philip DeVencentis
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
WAYNE - The township will explore new ways to pick up household garbage after the current contract with a private hauler was blamed for raising taxes.
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Members of the Township Council were so unhappy with a proposed tax increase of $135.87 for average homeowners that it took them two tires to pass the municipal budget on May 7. [2025]
..... the annual tax hike was due to costs for health care benefits and for solid waste collection, officials said. Without those increases - amounting to nearly $4 million - the budget would have stayed flat, they said.
..... The $102 million spending plan was adopted by a vote of 5-2, with councilmen Al Sadowski and Joseph Scuralli dissenting.
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The budget was initially defeated because Councilman Jonathan Ettman also voted against it, and five votes were needed for approval. He reconsidered his position after the governing body recessed, and he spoke to his colleagues.
..... Ettman, however, was still unsettled about the exorbitant costs to pick up trash. "Taxpayers have had enough," said Ettman, who serves the 6th Ward. "We;re squeezing people until they can't be squeezed any longer."
..... Council members Michael Pattal and Francine Ritter requested that the township administration look into alternatives for collecting garbage and for providing medical insurance to employees.
..... Wayne entered a contract for garbage collection with Gaeta Recycling Company Incorporated in January. [2025]
the Paterson Hauler is paid $3.9 million annually for five years, representing a nearly 25% increase over the prior deal.
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Business Administrator, Christopher Tietien said there was "no justification" for the increase. he said officials had to accept the proposal by Gaeta Recycling since it was the only bidder. "We're held to the one bid that we receive," he said. "there's no legal way around it."
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Ettman said the apparent monopoly should be "investigated thoroughly" and that it seemed to him private haulers were colluding to inflate prices.
..... "It sounds as plan as day that this is a RICO violation," Ettman said, referring to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations act, a federal law signed by President Richard Nixon in October 1970.
..... "You need an investigation to get proof and if on one is going to do the work to get there, the status quo is going to remain, and we're all going to get screwed," he added. Later, he said: "We're getting completely bamboozled in what I absolutely perceive to be an illegal operation by garbage companies."
..... Michael, Portannese, the president of Gaeta Recycling, said the township is experiencing an increase i costs for garbage collection because it changed how it priced the service. He said the prior contract was based on costs per ton of garbage collected, with costs for disposal built in. under that arrangement, he said, his company assumed much of the expense for disposal.
..... For the current contract, Portannese said, bidders were asked to submit proposals for collection costs only, with an understanding that the township would be billed separately for disposal. "there were no surprise," he said on May 12. [2025] "they're the ones that changed the contract, which allowed us to price it separately."
..... Local homeowners produce about 2,500 tons of garbage per month, he said.
..... Portanese said the township saved money through the prior contract by not having to pay for disposal. He further claimed that officials owe Gaeta Recycling more than $640,000 in tipping fees.
..... "There should be a closet in Wayne Township, filled with all of the money that they've save," Portannese said. "we lost our shirts for five years.
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The township was in a contract dispute with Gaeta Recycling in December 2022, when its bids for recyclables collection were rejected, causing a 2 1/2-week lapse in curbside service. A different company was hired, but because it did not last, officials were forced to renew their pact with the Paterson hauler.