Camden County may turn over incinerator to private firm

Camden County officials could soon be out of the incinerator management business.

Under a plan being considered, the South Camden incinerator, built in the early 1990s, would be turned over to Foster Wheeler, the Swiss corporation that runs the facility, Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said.

The question of whether to end government control over the incinerator comes as three of the county's largest towns - Cherry Hill, Voorhees, and Gloucester Townships - have agreed to join forces to see if they can find cheaper trash-disposal options on the open market.

If they and other towns are successful, it might make sense to allow the incinerator to become a private operation, Cappelli said. County officials, however, would have to consider the possibility of future rate hikes if current price controls are scrapped.

"What needs to be considered is the long-term impact," Cappelli said. "Stability in the market is just as important as cost."

The county's contract with Foster Wheeler expires June 30, and officials from the Camden County Pollution Control Financing Authority are going to begin meeting with local townships to discuss pricing at the incinerator and whether it makes sense for the county to continue its current role.

"There is no municipality that is not in a financial crisis," said David Luthman, deputy director of the trash authority. "One area where cost savings are available is in waste disposal. We have to do our share to make that happen."

Camden County, like many New Jersey counties, found itself in financial trouble with its incinerator after a federal appeals court ruled in the late 1990s that counties could not mandate where towns sent trash.

That put the incinerator in direct competition with traditional landfills, forcing the county to lower its rates and seek bailouts from the state to pay off construction debts.

In December, the county trash authority made its final bond payment with assistance from the state, part of more than $150 million in subsidies received since 1999.

This month, Cappelli announced the county was looking into merging the trash authority into the Camden County Improvement Authority to save money.

With government budgets tightening by the day, trash disposal is now under close review by local finance officials.

Cherry Hill spends $1.3 million of its more than $60 million budget on trash disposal, said township spokesman Dan Keashen. Through jointly soliciting bids with other large towns as well as the Borough of Merchantville, it's hoping to save about $250,000 a year.

"Maybe it turns out Foster Wheeler is the low bidder," Keashen said. "If we can find significant savings with them, this makes it really easy."

Luthman said the possibility of lowering the incinerator's trash disposal rates was under review.

"It's going to take a lot of close analysis," he said.

A Foster Wheeler spokesman said in an e-mail that the company planned to continue to run the incinerator if Camden County pulls out.