By Joe Scavuzzo, Director, Department of Public Works

I hope that you and your loved ones found the holiday season to be enjoyable! We at the Department of Public Works look forward to serving you again this year. As we hope for a mild winter, here are a few items we’d like to share with Pennsauken residents.

Live Christmas Tree Disposal

My December article spoke about our ability to monitor the types of calls regarding questions or concerns that we receive via access to this data. Pulling the January 2017 call log – and one instance from last February – I noticed we received a handful of calls where residents asked how to dispose of live Christmas trees. I’d imagine the one that held onto their tree until February is more committed to the holiday than I am!

You can place your live Christmas tree at your curb on Tuesday afternoons for collection during the normal Wednesday yard debris pickup. It does not have to be in a bag, nor cut up, although the bag may make it cleaner to remove from your home. Also, please make sure that all ornaments and lights are removed from the tree before disposing of it.

Snow Removal

Typically, plowing operations won’t begin until three to four inches of snow accumulation. Public Works has the two-story rock salt storage building filled to the brim and ready for whatever conditions winter throws our way. It is our mission to plow from curb to curb to provide the widest area for emergency vehicles to maneuver. We encourage residents to not dig out their driveway aprons until we’ve been down your street. This is an unfortunate byproduct of plowing and we request your patience, as our crews typically endure countless overnight hours to clear our town.

A winter article wouldn’t be complete without the mentioning of potholes. The Department of Public Works has a designated crew that responds to all reports of potholes located on Pennsauken roads. Last year, I updated the Public Works section on the Township’s website to include an article with pictures of what causes potholes. Remember, not all roads within Pennsauken’s borders are owned and maintained by Public Works. Potholes tend to pop up when the weather begins to get warm and then cold again. That being said, if you come across one over the deep freeze months, we can temporarily fill them until conditions are improved enough for a proper cut out and patch can be made.

Pennsauken has a weaving of state roads, such as Routes 130, 70, 38, and 73, as well as a number of county roads that are maintained by the Camden County Department of Public Works. To report potholes found on county roads, call (856) 566-2980 or visit http://www.camdencounty.com/service/public-works/county-road-report-form/. To report a pothole on a state highway, visit http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/commuter/potholeform.shtm. For all potholes found on Pennsauken roads, just give our office a call or send us an e-mail at our info listed at the end of this article.

Special Hazardous Waste Collections

At the time of printing this issue, we had not yet received the 2018 schedule of Household Hazardous Waste, Electronic Waste and Paper Shredding Events from Camden County. When these days are made public, I will include in the next article and place it on the Department of Public Works page on the Pennsauken Township website. Check in with our office with any related questions and we will point you in the right direction.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach us at (856) 663-0178 or e-mail publicworks@twp.pennsauken.nj.us.