State College Borough Council has been talking trash for two months, and council member James Meyer said something is bound to give at tonight's meeting.

In December, council voted 4-3 to pass an ordinance to abandon the borough's current refuse collection system of optional at-door pickup in favor of mandatory curbside pickup.

At council's Feb. 3 meeting, a vote to distribute a notice informing citizens of the changes in procedure resulted in a 3-3 deadlock. After intense debate, council delayed the original March 1 implementation date two weeks to March 15, giving the borough time to inform residents of the new guidelines if changes are approved.

Council President Richard McCarl, who was absent from that meeting, said he plans to vote in favor of distributing the notice.

Currently, half of the borough's 3,200 customers take their trash to the curb, and half use at-door pickup. All
borough customers pay the same annual rate of $222, but collection costs are about $32 more annually per customer using at-door pickup, Meyer said.

Mark Whitfield, director of public works, estimated the new policy will save the borough $70,000 a year.

Council member Elizabeth Goreham strongly opposes the new system and said she hopes council will dispose of the ordinance and stay with the current collection method. Should that not happen, Goreham said she would support a two-tier system where residents would have the option to pay a premium rate for at-door pickup.

"One option would be to let everyone over a certain age have the option for free," Goreham said.

That way, people who are physically unable to carry their trash to the curb would not be penalized with a premium rate, she said.

While McCarl said he has yet to form an opinion on a two-tier system, Meyer is opposed to the idea.

After riding with his garbage collector for a day in December, Meyer concluded a two-tier approach would not work with the borough's one-man collection trucks.

"The one-man system does not work with at-door pickup," Meyer said.

In some instances, collectors must open gates and go into backyards to pick waste up at the back door, Meyer said. In other occasions, they must make as many as seven trips up a 100-foot driveway, he said.

Goreham said she sees the new system as efficiency for public works coming at the inconvenience of residents.

"The borough isn't cash-strapped," Goreham said. "This isn't out of necessity and the people who pay for this need to be consulted."

Meyer said the reason the borough provides services is to offer them at a lower cost than the private sector.

"The cheaper the borough can collect trash, the cheaper residents bills will be; that's the bottom line," Meyer said. "The borough is not padding its pockets with this ordinance. The residents finance this system and will benefit from the savings."

Meyer expressed concern with the misconception that all residents will be subject to mandatory curbside pickup. He said the majority of public outcry has come from elderly and disabled residents who will not be affected.

People who physically cannot take the trash to the curb have been taken into account from the beginning, Meyer said. The notice specifies that people with physical disabilities, due to age, poor health, or as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, may be exempt from curbside collection.

"I hear people say the ordinance will ruin the quality of life in State College, but the borough is the last place in the state with such a policy," Meyer said. "Are we that special? The rest of the world is doing it. Is this the only good place in the world?"