Are Garbage Trucks Waking You at Night?

South Whitehall Township officially lowered its residential garbage collection fee from $344 to $280 a year last week, thanks to a new, less expensive contract with its current trash hauler—J.P. Mascaro.

But not everyone in South Whitehall is especially pleased with Mascaro. One homeowner on Emerson Lane in the Cedar Creek Farms development told commissioners last week that he has been woken at 2 a.m. by noisy trucks that can be heard as far as five blocks away.

“They have to come at a normal time and not when people are sleeping,” William Argeros told commissioners. “I dread sleeping tonight.”

Thanks to Mascaro’s visits, his South Whitehall Township home is noisier than his last place in Center City Bethlehem.

Bethlehem has no municipal waste-hauling contract and property owners are required to hire their own trash collector. That means that, conceivably, every night can be a garbage collection night on any city block.

“They should be picking up earlier,” said Township Manager Jon Hammer, who said he would talk to Mascaro about the situation.

“I’m grateful that they are dropping their rates, but I’d pay more if they’d do it right,” Argeros said.

In addition to lowering the overall fees, Mascaro is providing for curbside pickup of grass clippings during mowing season at no extra charge. This year, residents had to buy $3 stickers to have grass clippings collected.

Are garbage trucks collecting trash too late at night and disrupting your sleep? Tell us in the comments.