One year ago, China stopped accepting most American scrap plastic and cardboard - rejecting all but the cleanest, most conforming items - throwing a wrench into U.S. recycling programs. Now, cities and towns across the U.S. are dealing with piles of homeless plastic with no clear destination because markets for #4, #5, and #7 plastics are now almost non-existent and plastic bags are considered a contaminant. As a result, these items are in many cases leaving the recycling facility as trash and being landfilled. In the past 10 years Camden County, like many other places, started Single Stream Recycling, where residents combine all recyclable materials into one container for pickup. The Borough of Merchantville will continue to educate residents about effective, clean recycling measures. Recently, neighboring municipalities have experienced their recycling rejected due to contamination. Let’s all reduce how much plastic we use and remember, only plastic #1 & #2 can be placed in the blue bins. The following items should be placed in your curbside recycling container: Newspaper • mixed paper including junk mail • magazines • catalogs • school papers • office papers etc… • paper packaging • paperboard cartons for foods such as cereal boxes, pasta boxes and tissue boxes, etc… • softcover books • phone books • cardboard • glass bottles and jars • aluminum and steel cans • aluminum and steel lids • CLEAN CONTAINERS like Plastic bottles and jars with #1 or #2 found on the bottom • milk and juice cartons • paper towel and toilet paper inserts.

When in doubt, THROW IT OUT. Beginning on July 26th, recycle cans in Merchantville will not be picked up if items such as, plastic bags, pizza boxes and plastics other than #1 and #2 are mixed in the can. Cans will be tagged and residents will receive a flyer on the can with the guidelines for items that can be recycled. Camden County wants to make single stream recycling easy and will only accept rinsed plastic or glass bottles, jars and jugs, rinsed aluminum and steel cans, clean paper, and clean cardboard.  If you are unsure if a piece is recyclable, just throw it out. For more information regarding the guidelines visit Camdencounty.com/recycling.

On Monday, July 8th, Mayor and Council heard from residents of Glenwood Avenue about the continuing issue of street flooding. Reports of flooding on the 200 block of Glenwood Avenue in Merchantville can be found in newspapers as far back as 1938. In 1979, flooding along Glenwood and Holly Avenues was sited as issue and in 1989 Borough Engineers, Remington and Vernick, advised the municipality to increase the size of storm sewer pipes from 18" to 24"and replace the system of drainage pipes along the railroad embankment. In 1991 the Borough appropriated $25,000 in funds to enlarge the storm drains, then in 1992 an additional $22,800 to increase drain capacity caused by heavy storms. In 1995, Mayor Patrick Brennan announced an $85,00 contract with VPS, Inc. to solve years of flooding by relocating two storm pipes, installed in 1945 along the 200 block of Glenwood, to the Holly Road intersection; increasing the storm pipe size from 18" to 27"; and, creating more inlets to catch rainwater. Today, Mayor Ted Brennan sent a letter to the residents of Glenwood Avenue detailing actions taken to date, outlining plans to alleviate future issues, and announcing a follow up meeting in that neighborhood on August 6th.

The Borough of Merchantville invites you to join the members of the Merchantville Police Department and the members of the Merchantville Fire Department for our annual National Night Out celebration. This years National Night Out will take place on August 6th from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the Merchantville Community Center, 212 Somerset Street. National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. National Night Out enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. Furthermore, it provides a great opportunity to bring policemen, firemen and neighbors together under positive circumstances.

The MPWC has some tips for Smart Irrigation Month. Remember - using your irrigation system or gardening does increase water usage in the summer months. To help save water on your bill, we are sharing some water conservation tips when watering your lawn. Make sure the direction of your sprinkler covers the lawn and does not waste or spill out of your lawn. Plant shade trees to reduce overall temperatures and reduce water evaporation from soil. Also, it is helpful to keep a true timer when you water so it’s consistent and conservative.