ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The price Allentown residents pay to get rid of their trash is expected to skyrocket in coming years.
Council members on Monday reviewed the city's pending trash-collection contract with J.P. Mascaro & Sons, which they look set to approve Wednesday.
The company is projected to get $16.3 million across the first year of the citywide curbside collection contract.
And Allentown is budgeting to pay just under $3 million for trash disposal in the first year of its contract with the Bethlehem Landfill Company.
Both contracts start June 1, after the expiration of the city’s nine-year relationship with Waste Management, which collects and disposes of the city's trash.
Rising costs for residents
The new contract will cost the city millions more each year than its previous deal.
Residents’ trash-related payments could hit $740 in 2026 — a 78% increase in just two years.Projections by Mayor Matt Tuerk’s administration
And residents are set to foot much of that increase.
Residents paid $415 for trash-related services this year after a $40 increase was approved as part of the city’s 2024 budget.
That would climb 46% to $605 in 2025 if council approves the collection contract Wednesday, as expected.
It's unclear how the $190 increase next year will be included in the 2025 budget, as officials have yet to open discussions on next year's spending plan.
And residents’ trash-related payments could hit $740 in 2026 — a 78% increase in just two years — according to projections by Mayor Matt Tuerk’s administration.
Waste Management also submitted a bid for the contract. Awarding the contract to Waste Management would’ve cost the city an additional $10.2 million in its first year alone.
Waste Management has been collecting Allentown residents’ trash for almost a decade. The company picks up trash twice a week from homes.
Recycling and yard waste is collected once weekly, according to the city’s website. Residents must place trash and recycling outside their homes between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. on the night before collection.
Curbside yard-waste collection is set to double under the contract in front of council, with the city moving to year-round services.
Allentown’s contract with J.P. Mascaro & Sons would last five years, with two two-year extensions built into the deal.
