1.        Individually tagged garbage bag and free recycling pickup;

2.         Quarterly payment with unlimited weekly pickup of garbage and free recycling; or

3.         Individually tagged recycling bag pickup with no garbage pickup.

             See below  “Tips on How to Recycle”

 General Requirements—

          Welka Disposal services the entire Township and Waste Management services commercial customers on state roads in the Township.  Their prices for service may vary.

          Waste Management does not offer recycling and only bills the customer for pickup by the week.

            Welka offers "by the bag" service using tags or unlimited pickup.  Garbage bag tags and recycle bag tags are available directly, by mail, from them for weekly pickup service in front of your home.  Unlimited customers are billed by Welka directly to the customer.

          Recycle bag tags are needed when a home owner wishes to recycle and does not pay for either a bag or unlimited pickup that week.

            The Township Office and the following agent sell garbage bag tags and recycle bag tags for Welka at the same price as they do by mail.  At times when the Township Office is not open you may purchase tags from June Shelhamer, 6881 Old State Rd, 814-734-3155.

            You may put out for collection no more than that amount of garbage and recyclables generated by one residential family in one week.  You may not combine garbage from more than one household in an attempt to defraud the hauler by paying only one fee for pickup of more than one household.  This is a violation of the Township’s Ordinance and state law and is subject to fines and criminal penalties.

            If you miss putting out your garbage and you will have two week’s garbage next time, a courtesy call to the hauler will help the hauler understand the problem.

            Garbage pickup will be every week.  However, holidays may require a pickup day schedule change.  The hauler will inform you of these changes in the schedule.  Haulers may have different regular days for pickup--call them for their schedule

            Bags used for tagged garbage and recyclables must be the 30-33  gallon size (no more than 30 lbs. each) and must be set out for pickup contained within a garbage can.  Do not set out bags that are not in cans.  This protects the bags from damage by animals and snowplows.  Broken bags with garbage strewn about will not be picked up the hauler.  You are responsible for cleaning up the mess.

            If you’re a bag tag customer, you may hold your garbage or recyclables to completely fill a bag.  This is most cost effective.  Please see below if this will cause you to be on an irregular schedule.

            Bags of 30-33 gallon size (no more than 30 lbs. each) used for recycling must be clear plastic so the contents can be seen.  Bags of 30-33 gallon size for tagged garbage should be opaque.

            Snow plowing, winter storms and garbage pickup day don’t go together very well.  Here’s the best advice we have.  On winter days when snowplowing is expected, put your garbage out just before pickup on your scheduled day.  Keep your garbage in sturdy cans with locking lids.  Place the cans back inside the entrance to your driveway—back behind the plow line along the road.  Cans further out toward the road will surely be hit.  Take whatever precautions are necessary to secure them from being blown about by the wind or blown over by the snow from the plow.  Remove the cans as soon as possible after pickup.

 Explanations:

Method 1-

            All bags containing garbage or recyclables must be contained within cans when set out for pickup.

            Buying tags for garbage bags and receiving free recycling offers the least expensive method of disposing of your residential garbage.  With this method the greatest incentive exists to recycle.  The more that you recycle (for free) the less number of weekly garbage tags you will have to buy. 

            Those with small households and effective recyclers may even be able to get down to less than one tagged bag of garbage a week.  You may put out tagged garbage every other week or irregularly at your option.  Contact the hauler if you will be setting out bags on an irregular schedule. 

            You must place at least one tagged bag of garbage to receive free recycling that week.  Otherwise you must place a special recycling tag on your bag of recyclables.  Please see method 3. 

            Recyclables must be placed separately at curbside in clear plastic 30-33 gallon bags contained in cans so that the contents can be seen as recyclables.

            At least quarterly, the hauler will offer pickup of household furniture with a specific number of tags attached.  Contact your hauler for this schedule and the number of tags required for a particular item.  Any deal that you may negotiate regarding the pickup of these items is acceptable.

            The Township’s Recycling Days will compliment this program by providing you with a means to recycle items not handled with the weekly pickup program (appliances, tires, batteries, used motor oil, used antifreeze, large scrap steel and aluminum, etc.).  Watch for separate announcements from the Township on Recycle Days.

            If you are a new customer, please contact the hauler to notify him that you will begin setting out bags.  Also contact the hauler if you will be stopping your pickup for a period of time for whatever reason. 

 Method 2-

            All bags containing garbage or recyclables must be contained within cans when set out for pickup.

            For households that produce a high volume of non-recyclable garbage, this method will be most cost effective.  Recycling can reduce the amount of garbage sent to the landfill.  Landfill space is dwindling and costs for land filling garbage are increasing.  To be a good steward of the environment, you are encouraged to recycle to the maximum extent possible.

            Recyclables must be placed separately at curbside in clear plastic 30-33 gallon bags contained in cans so that the contents can be seen as recyclables.

            At least once quarterly, the hauler must offer free pickup of household furniture.  Contact the hauler for this schedule.

            The Township’s Recycling Days will compliment this program by providing you with a means to recycle items not handled with the weekly pickup program (appliances, tires, batteries, used motor oil, used antifreeze, large scrap steel and aluminum, etc.).  Watch for separate announcements from the Township on Recycle Days. 

Method 3-

            All bags containing recyclables must be contained within cans when set out for pickup.

            If you have only recyclables to be picked up, you must tag the bag with a special sticker that helps pay for the pickup cost.  Use this method if recycling pickup is the only service required of the hauler that week.  Free recycling pickup is offered only if you are also setting out tagged garbage that week or you are on the unlimited pickup plan.

            At least quarterly, the hauler will offer pickup of household furniture with a specific number of garbage tags attached.  Contact your hauler for this schedule and the number of tags required for a particular item. 

            The Township’s Recycling Days will compliment this program by providing you with a means to recycle items not handled with the weekly pickup program (appliances, tires, batteries, used motor oil, used antifreeze, large scrap steel and aluminum, etc.).  Watch for separate announcements from the Township on Recycle Days.

Tips on How to Recycle

Welcome to the wonderful world of recycling. 

You may use the drop off program described at the top of the page or follow the instructions below for the curbside pickup program.

Franklin Township is unique in that we have a recycling program in place and have not been mandated by the State to do so.  Thanks to you, the residents, we feel sure that this program will be a success.  The following are some tips on what to recycle, how to recycle, and when to recycle. 

Franklin Township’s recycling program does not require you to separate your recyclables except for newspaper.  Newspapers are collected only on the last pickup day of the month.  Newspapers should be tied in bundles and bagged in a clear plastic bag so they won’t get wet. 

All other recyclables can be placed into the same 30-33 gallon-sized (no more than 30 lbs. each) clear plastic bag and placed at curbside on pickup day.  The following guidelines will help your recycling effort: 

Plastics:

Effective immediately Franklin Township recycles all plastics numbered 1 through 7.  These are virtually all the plastics commonly used in a household.

Glass:  clear, brown and green product container glass is recyclable.  Do not include window glass, light bulbs, mirrors, glass tableware, ceramics, Pyrex or auto glass.  These must be placed in your regular garbage because there is no recycling market for them.  DO NOT break up your glass but do rinse it. The lid is recyclable but must be removed from the glass container.  Removal of the label is not necessary. 

Bi-Metal Containers and Lids: which include but are not limited to, aluminum soda cans (see note below on aluminum cans); food cans; dog and cat food cans; aerosol cans with the plastic lids removed; metal lids from your glass containers; paint cans with lids off and only dry paint inside; etc.  Rinse to prevent odors, label can be removed if you desire but is not necessary. To save space in your recycle bag, you can remove both ends of the can and smash it.  Unlike with plastics, the high temperature of glass and metal processing deals easily with contamination. 

Newspaper:  Welka picks up only newspapers on the last pickup day of each month.  No other recyclables are picked up that day.  Papers must be clean, dry, bundled with string and placed in a clear recycle bag to keep them dry.  Only 30 lbs. per bundle/bag.  Put newspapers out along with your regular garbage on the last pickup day of the month.  The inserts that come with your newspaper are recyclable. 

Aluminum Cans: the Township has operated an aluminum can drop off recycling program.  This drop off program will continue.  Proceeds are donated to charities of the Township’s choice.  Leave your bagged aluminum cans beside the aluminum can recycling bin at the Township only on the last Saturday of the month.  Periodically the Township selects a worthy charity to whom the proceeds can be donated. 

A Note About Compost: compost is just recycled plant matter.  Food (not meats or fish) and yard scraps placed in a special bin are converted into valuable garden soil.  Bins are available at garden stores and some nurseries.  Composting bins are usually available through the Township’s recycling program.  Call us or watch for announcements. 

Bury fresh kitchen scraps down in the bin to prevent flies, and try to keep a balance of dry “brown” materials and fresh “green” material.  Add lime and leaves in the fall.  Sometimes the addition of sand will improve your composted soil.  Turn the composting material as necessary to mix new and old materials. 

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

All the products you buy, including their packaging or containers, will eventually require disposal.  Packaging now accounts for 1/3 by weight and 1/2 by volume of all our garbage.  The average Pennsylvanian discards more than 4 pounds of trash each day.  If each person reduced waste by only one pound each week, the amount of reduction statewide would total 312,000 tons a year.  This reduction would be the equivalent of eliminating the Lakeview landfill. 

When considering the purchase of any item, always consider its recyclability.  When offered a choice, purchase items that have less packaging, have greater reusability and only buy those items that can be recycled. 

Township Recycle Days:  As often as possible the Township will hold recycle days.  Watch for mailout announcements and web notices here.  Recycle Days will offer you the opportunity to recycle most other household items not picked up during the weekly garbage pickup.  This includes: tires; batteries; radiators; used motor oil; used antifreeze; large scrap steel, aluminum, and copper; and automobiles and farm implements.  Unfortunately there is no recycling market for window glass.  Dispose of this in your trash. 

Household Hazardous Waste:  Of all things that consumers buy, these items present the most difficulty for disposal.  First and most important, only buy the quantity necessary to do the job.  This helps prevent the major problem of having many hazardous items sitting on your shelves with no way to dispose of them.  Containers purchased at stores for use by consumers can be disposed of in your trash.  But it goes without saying that high quantities of left over chemicals placed in the landfill will eventually present a future problem.  Since Household Hazardous Waste Recycling Programs are very expensive and require costly technical assistance for collection, they are not held often.  When undertaken, the cost requires it to be done at the county level.  Your best approach is to buy small quantities and use it all up. 

Questions?  If you have any questions, call the Township Office between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Thursday, at 734-3521.  Or call the Erie County Recycling Hotline at 451-6009. 

This program is funded in part by a grant by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.