One after another, West Whiteland retirees have been phoning the township office to complain.
Not fair, they say, that they are paying almost $140 a year for the little trash they generate. They say their payments are subsidizing families who generate six or more bags a week.
Now there's a proposal that retired residents - and all other households in the township - pay for their trash by the bag.
"If you only put one bag out once a week, you just pay for one bag," said Anita Kistler, a member of the township's trash and recycling task force.
Steve Brown, assistant township manager, said, "The most important aspect is that it is a positive incentive to recycle, and it puts the responsibility back in the hands of the individual."
However, at last week's supervisors' meeting, task force members found, to their apparent surprise, little enthusiasm among the supervisors, who found the plan too complicated.
The supervisors will not make a decision until after questionnaires sent to residents by the task force are returned at the end of February. The surveys will gather residents' opinions on trash-payment and recycling options.
According to Diane Snyder of the task force, residents would put nonrecyclable trash in specially marked bags that would be sold at area stores. Snyder said the per-bag plan "would cut costs for those on a fixed income and reward anyone who limits their trashload."
Now, all 3,800 households in the township, big or small, pay an annual fee of $138.60. That's less than $12 a month. The township has a one-year $380,000 contract for trash collection with Eastern Waste Industries.
Supervisors Chairman Ronald L. White and Vice Chairman David C. Bortner said they didn't want to bother with bags or an alternative method - specially purchased stickers to be stuck to regular trash bags.
Two communities that charge by the bag, in Perkasie, Bucks County, and Carlisle, Pa., near Harrisburg, charge $1.50 and $2 per bag, respectively, according to Liz Coleman-Gnecco, a task force member. She pointed out that at $2 a bag, two bags a week would cost $16 a month - more than the West Whiteland rate.
"To help people, we should follow up and teach about 'precycling' - the latest new phrase," said Coleman-Gnecco. Precycling involves shopping selectively and urging companies to package less.
Among their objections, supervisors noted that trash pickup fees at their own homes are half the rates they paid before the township consolidated trash hauling in October.
