Forced to act alone in securing a new trash removal contract, Pennsburg Borough Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve bid specifications.

                Municipal officials expressed a hope to open any bids prior to their Sept. 6 public meeting.

                "We're moving forward," Council member Diane Stevens said after Tuesday's public meeting. Stevens is the borough's representative to the regional Solid Waste/Recycling Committee.

                Stevens announced to the council that East Greenville had withdrawn from the committee one day earlier. She read aloud a letter from Jim Fry, the neighboring municipality's manager.

                The letter caught Stevens completely by surprise. She said after the meeting East Greenville officials showed no signs of wanting to pull out of the committee during its most recent meeting.

                "This came completely out of the blue," said Stevens, who added that Pennsburg officials were working to incorporate language proposed by East Greenville's representative in the joint bid document. "However, it makes things a lot easier for us."

                Pennsburg's elected officials approved a bid document that would provide each resident with a 96-gallon tote for trash and a 64-gallon tote for recyclable materials. Residents would also reserve the option to utilize trash bags.

                According to Stevens, the bid document calls for mandatory curbside recycling every week. She said this method would increase the percentage of recycled materials in the borough.

                "We need to go to curbside recycling," she said after the meeting.

                Pennsburg, which currently operates and owns a joint recycling center in the borough with East Greenville, only recycles 2 percent of available items, according to Stevens. She said her municipality does not have a mandatory recycling ordinance. Pennsburg currently offers voluntary curbside recyclable pickup every other week.

                Each household in Pennsburg currently pays a $110 flat fee for trash removal. Stevens said that could be reconfigured based on the bid price. "We're also thinking about billing residents quarterly for trash pickup," she said after the meeting.

                According to Stevens, the borough would likely continue utilizing the joint recycling center, located in 600 block of West Side Alley in Pennsburg, if the bid price for curbside recycling pickup is cost prohibitive.

                Stevens also said both communities could continue to own the joint recycling center as long as they continue to store a wood chipper inside the building. She said under that condition, no grant money would have to be returned to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.