AUGUST 2026 UPDATE:
At its August meeting, Carlisle Borough Council approved the purchase of five new rear-loader garbage trucks (three 27-yard units and two 20-yard units).
JULY 2026 UPDATE:
An update on the solid waste municipalization process was provided at the July Borough Council Meeting. Watch below.
The Borough’s plans to bring solid waste and recycling operations in-house continue, and the program is on track to begin January 1, 2028.
Timeline to Date:
- The Solid Waste Municipalization Subcommittee was formed in 2025 and developed a draft proposal. The first analysis was presented to Borough Council in July 2025.
- A survey launched in September 2025 to gather resident feedback on the potential program.
- Borough Council adopted a Resolution of Intent to begin the transition to an in-house solid waste and recycling system in December 2025.
Staffing Plan:
The original 12-employee organizational structure remains the same. The plan includes an operations manager, four drivers, six loaders, and one hybrid driver/loader. The staffing model is built with redundancies to ensure service is uninterrupted during planned or unexpected absences. Hiring for these positions is expected to be finalized by the fall of 2027 to allow for adequate training time.
Vehicles
The subcommittee has updated its fleet strategy to go with a “split fleet” approach consisting of three 27-yard units (one for trash, one for recycling, and one backup) and two 20-yard units (one for trash and one for recycling) The smaller units will be able to better maneuver the narrower Borough streets.
The price of the model vehicles we are procuring will increase in 2027, so staff is recommending that the Borough order these vehicles by August of 2026. Borough Council may consider approving this purchase at its August 13 meeting.
Containers and Storage Infrastructure.
The program, as designed, requires that all customers use standardized, rear-loader compatible trash and recycling containers. The original plan estimated purchasing 12,000 containers, as well as constructing a prefabricated building at the Public Works Garage for vehicle storage and ventilation.
To help reduce costs, the Borough is negotiating with its current provider to retain the existing curbside recycling containers.
Disposal & Recycling Facilities
Moving solid waste collection in-house means the Borough must have facilities where collected materials can be disposed of or processed.
Recyclable materials must be taken to a specialized facility for proper processing. The Borough has spoken with the Penn Waste Materials Recovery Facility, and they have confirmed that the vehicles we plan to purchase will be compatible with its operations. Formal contract negotiations with the facility are expected to begin in 2027.
For trash disposal, Borough staff have scheduled an on-site meeting with the Cumberland County Landfill to discuss logistics and potential contract terms.
Market Conditions
The Borough continues to monitor the solid waste and recycling contract rates of our neighboring municipalities. Most saw increases of 6% to 24% when negotiating new contracts. North Middleton Township did see a decrease of 14%, in part due to a shift from a manual collection model to a standardized system, which reduced the number of loaders needed and the amount of trash collected, resulting in lower tipping fees. Lemoyne Borough secured a rate decrease by switching to a new service provider.
We envision that our transition to an in-house system should provide residents consistent service delivery at an affordable cost.
Next Steps
At its August meeting, Borough Council will consider purchasing the necessary vehicles and approving the proposed loan structure.
The program remains fully on schedule to begin on January 1, 2028.
UPDATE: At its December Meeting, Borough Council passed a resolution expressing its intent to transition solid waste and recycling services in-house.
An update on Solid Waste & Recycling was given at the December Borough Council Workshop Meeting.
At the December Council meeting, Borough Council may adopt a resolution to begin the transition to an in-house system. An in-house trash program could provide enhanced service quality, operational flexibility, and long-term cost stabilization.
Why do we need a waste program?
Under Pennsylvania’s Act 101, the Borough of Carlisle, as well as all municipalities with populations exceeding 10,000, is legally required to establish and maintain a recycling program. The Act places responsibility on the municipality to manage the collection, transportation, processing, and disposal of municipal waste and to ensure adequate service and facility capacity for all residents.
To satisfy this state mandate, the Borough has made participation in its solid waste and recycling program mandatory, giving us the volume leverage needed to keep per-household costs as low as possible. However, the landscape of waste management began shifting in 2018, leading to price increases.
Shifting Recycling Market
For many years, recycling generated revenue for waste management companies, which often received $20 per ton for recyclables. However, in 2018, the worldwide recycling market changed dramatically when China banned most imports, forcing haulers to pay to dispose of recycling materials instead of being paid for them.
This shift caused our costs to double in 2020, from $800,000 to $1.6 million. Despite efforts to stabilize costs, prices continued to increase. In 2023, the Borough only received one bid for trash collection, highlighting a lack of market competition that further drove up prices. With just one bidder, the Borough was unable to ensure a competitive market rate, and the current contract includes 7% annual rate increases. With the contract expiring in 2027, the Borough now has an opportunity to evaluate and implement a new service model.
Bringing it In-House
In 2025, a Solid Waste Municipalization Subcommittee, consisting of Borough Councilors, staff, and community members, was formed to evaluate a potential Borough-run program. The subcommittee developed a comprehensive draft operational plan to ensure reliability from day one.
The plan includes hiring 12 new employees, including an Operations Manager, drivers, and loaders. Staffing levels are designed with redundancies to ensure consistent service. The proposed fleet would include five rear-loader vehicles, standardized to a single truck type to simplify maintenance and parts inventory. The draft plan also includes supplying every residence with a Borough-branded trash container, complementing the existing recycling
bins. Finally, the plan includes the construction of a dedicated storage facility at the Field Operations Garage.
To make this transition, there is a significant upfront investment required. We project $2.4 million in capital outlays to purchase the fleet and containers, along with $1.1 million in startup operating funds to get the program running before revenue begins.
However, this should be viewed as an investment, not just an expense. Unlike our current contract, where money leaves the Borough, these funds purchase assets that the community will own.
Because we are operating without the intent for maximum profits, the model pays for itself relatively quickly. Our projections show that the break-even point arrives as soon as 2029, depending on how we choose to fund the program.
Looking further out, the savings compound. By 2037, the in-house model is anticipated to generate significant savings compared to the private market, which translates directly into lower and more stable rates for our residents.
Engaging the Community
In September of 2025, a “Quality of Life” survey was conducted to gather resident feedback. The survey was looking for what improvements the community wanted to see. Over 1,000 responses were received. The majority of residents were generally satisfied with the level of service they are getting, but are worried about rising costs. Many respondents also expressed a desire for a tiered system that offered lower. Moving in-house gives the Borough the operational flexibility to explore a tiered system and better respond to residents’ needs and potentially design a fair rate structure that a private, for-profit company could not.
Timeline
Following the passage of the resolution, staff will begin designing the operation program and ordering vehicles. The program will begin in January 2028. We will continue to update you as this process moves forward. Below is an implementation timeline for the program.
- Dec. 2025: Present Recap of Progress; Consider Resolution of Intent
- Jan. 2026: Start Operational Program Design to include Route Improvements, Parking Modifications, and Quality of Life Enhancements for Customers; Order Vehicles
- Jan. 2027: Container Purchase
- Sept. 2027: Hiring of Staff Finalized and Containers Deployed
- Dec. 2027: Update Ordinances in Borough Code
- Jan. 2028: Service Started
For decades, Carlisle Borough has relied on private haulers for solid waste and recycling collection. Due to market changes and a lack of competition among haulers, we’re now considering bringing the program in-house.
Our Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) model began over 30 years ago to comply with Pennsylvania’s Act 101. While it encouraged residents to reduce waste, recent global recycling changes, particularly China’s 2018 ban on contaminated materials, have made recycling more expensive. Haulers now pay to process recyclables, driving up program costs.
In 2023, the Borough switched to a Hybrid PAYT plan to cover the expenses of the program, but received only one contract bid, which includes annual 7% rate increases. Without market competition, cost control is limited.
In 2025, a Solid Waste Municipalization Subcommittee, consisting of Borough Councilors, staff, and community members, was formed to evaluate a potential Borough-run program. After extensive research, they proposed a conservative, cost-conscious plan addressing staffing, vehicles, containers, infrastructure, and operations.
Proposed Program Highlights:
- Staffing: The proposed plan includes utilizing some existing staff and hiring the following positions: Operations Manager, 4 drivers, 6 loaders, and a hybrid driver/loader
- Vehicles: 5 rear-loader trucks to handle a range of waste types and ensure service during high-volume periods.
- Containers: Under the proposed plan. each customer would receive a 35-gallon trash bin, with annual bag tags available for properties with space constraints. Tags would also be available to purchase for extra bags.
- Infrastructure: Trucks would be housed at the Public Works garage in a new multi-bay structure.
- Tipping Contracts: Solid waste would still be processed by third-party providers under new multi-year contracts.
The subcommittee also proposed several funding options for the program.
- Bond-Funded: $2.4 million in capital costs at 3.5% interest, plus a $1.1 million operating loan from the General Fund.
- Internally Funded: $3.5 million loan from the General Fund with a 20-year payback at 5% interest.
If Borough Council decides to proceed with an internal solid waste and recycling program, the next steps would include launching a public outreach campaign. This would include hosting public meetings, sharing information on social media, and conducting public surveys, among other efforts.
Watch staff's presentation to Council here: