Cornwall approves $375,000 garbage truck purchase to replace aging rig

Cornwall is moving to replace a garbage truck that town officials say has simply run out of road. The Town Board voted unanimously on May 19 to bond up to $375,000 for a new rig after Highway Superintendent Tom Gschwind told members the 2006 truck had outlived its useful life and could no longer be counted on for daily sanitation work.

The purchase is more than a routine equipment buy for the Cornwall Highway & Sanitation Department, which serves about 3,300 residents, five apartment complexes and 30 commercial pick-ups. The department collects household trash twice a week, picks up single-stream recycling every week, and handles brush and yard waste every other week, a schedule that depends on a truck fleet sturdy enough to keep routes moving without interruption.

Gschwind said the town’s direct purchase price for the replacement truck is $332,457, a figure officials described as cheaper than the other options they reviewed. Renting a truck would cost $7,500 a month. A long-term lease would run $3,800 a month, while a short-term lease would cost $5,000 a month. Town officials said those options would cost more over time than buying the vehicle outright.

Supervisor Joshua Wojehowski said the truck is one of the last large vehicles the town still needs to replace and stressed that the order can be placed now without the town having to pay until the vehicle arrives, likely in late 2027. He also said the purchase was needed because the department sometimes has to borrow trucks from neighboring municipalities when equipment breaks down, a stopgap that can complicate basic public works operations.

The board also touched on the town’s future fleet choices when a resident asked whether Cornwall should consider an electric garbage truck. Gschwind said he was not dismissive of the idea, but argued that the infrastructure for large electric trucks is not ready and that current vehicles do not have enough range for Cornwall’s route demands. Another board member suggested starting with smaller electric equipment first.

For residents, the immediate issue is less about a shiny new vehicle than about uninterrupted trash pickup. Cornwall’s sanitation system keeps running only if the town can replace aging equipment before breakdowns start forcing emergency borrowing, and officials said this truck is cheaper to secure now than to keep paying for short-term fixes later. The move comes as Cornwall continues promoting recycling and waste reduction, including a June 13 Cornwall Goes Green Recycling Day.