HARRISBURG — Mandated trash collection in Pennsylvania could help reduce the number of illegal dumps, state lawmakers were told Tuesday, but townships worry that curbside pickup may never be economically feasible in more rural areas.

The Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee’s public hearing Tuesday, the second in the past month, suggested there may not be a solution that satisfies everyone.

“Some people are likely to react unkindly or with stubbornness when told they are required to have trash pickup, and pay for it, when they haven’t in the past,” said York-based Penn Waste president Scott Wagner, testifying for the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association.

The committee has been gathering information with an eye toward recommending General Assembly action on a problem that the group Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful says amounts to more than 5,700 illegal dump sites.

Most sites have less than 5,000 pounds of trash, said Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful president Shannon Reiter. Cleaning one costs about $800 a ton, compared to $60-$80 a ton to have the same amount of trash disposed of properly.

Legislative analyst Cory S. Adams with the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors said decisions about whether to mandate commercial trash collection should be made by local people, not representatives in Harrisburg.

“Options in these communities may include drop-off service at transfer stations and, in any community without curbside service, the availability of drop-off stations for recycling,” Adams said. “Reasonable limits on the burning of trash can also be imposed, as in many areas this is the way trash has been dealt with for decades.”