Consolidating waste haulers in Naperville Twp. on Nov. 2 ballot.

Naperville Township Supervisor Gary Vician is hoping to save thousands of residents some money and save township roads with one punch of the chad.

The 2,528 voters in unincorporated Naperville Township will decide on Nov. 2 whether they want Vician and his staff to bid out waste hauling contracts that would treat the approximately 8,500 unincorporated township residents as one large group.

Currently each household, unless it is a member of an association, has an individual contract with a waste hauler. Vician said that means as many as four garbage trucks are riding through the area on any given day.

“Each homeowner has a right to use whichever hauler they wish, and I think they like that independence,” he said. “But we think they'll also like having the option to team up and form a corporation of sorts if it saves significant dollars.”

Vician said he's not sure such a move would save much, but without voter approval, the township isn't allowed to find out.

Such pooling has been used in other areas, including Lisle Township, to combat rapidly increasing hauler rates as gas prices increased. But as they've steadied recently, the pooling might have less effect.

“It's a great tool to have in the toolbox if you ever need it,” Vician said. “But just because you have it, doesn't mean you have to use it.”

Any contract put out for bid, if approved, would include a refuse collection, disposal and recycling program for the benefit of the unincorporated area.