ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown lawmakers on Wednesday approved a new trash-collection contract — the same one that they threw out just two weeks ago.
Council changed course to pass a five-year, $90 million contract with J.P. Mascaro & Sons by a 4-3 vote.
Members Cynthia Mota, Santo Napoli, Candida Affa and Daryl Hendricks approved the contract over dissent from Ed Zucal, Ce-Ce Gerlach and Natalie Santos.
Mota and Affa last month voted the opposite way as council initially rejected the contract.
“We wanted to win this contract. We gave you the absolute best number that we could give you.”Pat Mascaro, president of J.P. Mascaro & Sons
The deal with J.P. Mascaro & Sons starts June 1 and will cost the city $16.3 million for the first year.
But the contract approved Wednesday costs the city $10.2 million less over its first year than the bid submitted by Waste Management.
J.P. Mascaro & Sons President Pat Mascaro told council Wednesday that his company “targeted” Allentown’s trash-collection contract because it’s been based in the city since 1985.
“We wanted to win this contract,” Mascaro said. “We gave you the absolute best number that we could give you.”
Allentown will pay $2.30 to $3 every time the company’s trucks stop to pick up trash, Mascaro said, calling it an “enviable” deal for the city.
It’s projected to cost the city just over $90 million across the first five years of the contract, which can be extended by two two-year periods.
Allentown could end up paying J.P. Mascaro & Sons almost $180 million to collect trash and recycling for the next nine years.
Allentown is budgeting to pay just under $3 million for trash disposal in the first year of its contract with Bethlehem Landfill Company.
'No alternative,' new employees
Both contracts start June 1, after the expiration of Allentown’s nine-year deal with Waste Management, which collects and disposes of the city’s trash and recycling.
Allentown residents paid $415 in 2024 for trash-related services. That fee could jump by $190 in 2025 and $135 the next year, given the projected costs of the contract.
That would see residents’ trash fees climb more than 75% in just two years.
Mayor Matt Tuerk’s administration could look to save about $200,000 each year by sticking with 36 weeks of curbside yard-waste collection instead of moving to year-round services.
Tuerk announced Tuesday he will not seek a property tax increase as part of the city’s 2025 budget. He told council he doesn't want to raise taxes while asking residents to pay more for trash collection.
Several council members on Wednesday said there was “no alternative” to approving the contract with J.P. Mascaro.
Mascaro said his company plans to hire about 60 new employees to service Allentown’s contract. He expects many of those new employees will be Allentown residents.
