SANATOGA PA – When was the last time someone asked you for your opinion, and sounded like they were really interested in what you had to say? If it’s been awhile, go to your mailbox and open your Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township trash and recycling collection bill.

Yes, there’s an invoice inside. You must pay to have your trash removed.

But along with its polite request for money, the township also has enclosed a two-page “Trash, Recycling and Yard Waste Survey 2011.” Lower Pottsgrove wants to know what you think of trash collection here, how you think it could improve and, most importantly, how much you’d be willing to pay for trash removal in the future.

Hint: Zero dollars is NOT among the options.

The survey was approved Feb. 17 (2011) by the Board of Commissioners and was distributed Tuesday (March 29) by the Postal Service in the same envelope as the bill seeking a semi-annual payment of $71. The survey itself takes only one double-sided page; the second page offers an explanation of how trash pick-ups work, why the survey is being taken, and how its results will be used.

The township’s current five-year agreement with hauler J.P. Mascaro and Sons of Norristown PA expires this year. Negotiations on a new contract, usually of between three to five years in length, will begin in a few months.

During several meetings in the past 12 months, commissioners have heard from residents unhappy about the cost per garbage bag discarded, particularly among families who try to recycle as much as possible. They received complaints, too, about how garbage cans are damaged by collection workers, and over inconsistencies in the collection of recyclable materials.

Commissioners hold little hope property owners will want to pay more for trash services. As it is, the township annual fee amounts to $142 per property. Apparently they recognize, though, that the marketplace itself may offer a better deal. One survey question among 21 asked explores whether property owners are interested in choosing and paying for their own trash hauler.

The survey should be completed and returned to the township (you can mail it back with your payment, or just drop it off at the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA) by May 10.

The second, non-survey page is worth keeping, by the way. It includes a list of regional hazardous and electronic waste collection events between April and October. They’re worth knowing, because hazardous materials like paints and pesticides and electronics items like computer parts can’t be put into regular trash for removal.