By Kim Siebert MacPhail
After taking a month to consider the concept since it was first presented on May 20, the Selectmen voted this week to change the trash and recycling pick-up day from Wednesdays to Mondays at the request of Republic Services/Allied Waste. The new service date will become effective on Monday, July 1, 2013.
In a letter to Town Manager Rick Reed, Republic Services General Manager Kurt Lavery said that the request for the switch comes from “upcoming changes in our schedule involving several other Massachusetts communities” and the need to “rebalance our municipal pick-up schedule.”
Lavery listed the benefits Bedford will realize from agreeing to the change:
- Monday holidays are the only reason the normal pick-up day would be “bumped forward.”
- Household project and party refuse, commonly generated over the weekend, will be more quickly dispensed with.
- Only the snow events that occur late Sunday/early Monday will cause pick-up to be later in the week.
In exchange for agreeing to reschedule trash and recycling pick-up to Mondays, Republic Services will cover the cost—up to $2,000—of printing and posting a mailing to alert residents of the change. The company will also pay for the 100 additional refuse barrels that Town Manager Rick Reed said will be needed once the Pulte development on Hartwell Road is complete and switches from its current private hauler to Town services.
Republic Services/Allied Waste will also provide Wednesday service for the first two weeks of the new arrangement so that residents who missed the announcements or forgot about the change can still have their trash and recycling picked up. Republic’s Lavery also made mention of the company’s eagerness to discuss other ways that they can partner with Bedford to provide community programs— like paper shredding, electronics, and special materials collections and recycling— saying money has been “set aside to help our municipal customers drive these important planet- and community friendly initiatives.”
In addition to the mailing funded by Republic Services, Town Manager Reed said that the Town will use its “Code Red” telephone and email notification alert system to contact resident households about the change. An announcement will also be placed on the Town’s website and on its radio station, located on the dial at AM 1640.
Referencing dissatisfied comments from residents since the concept was first aired in late May, Selectman Mike Rosenberg said, “I don’t find any of the variables significant pluses or minuses. You can come up with arguments for any day of the week. In fact, I think at one time we did have a Monday pick-up.”
“It used to be that trash was picked up on different days of the week, depending on where you lived in town,” added Reed.
“It’s just something you get used to,” continued Rosenberg. “I support the amendment [to the contract].”
“I agree with Mike,” said Selectman Mark Siegenthaler. “I’m not sure that this is really earth-shaking news. It’s just a change of habit.”
Loading ...
not just a change of habit for some: people that go away for the weekend and directly to work on Monday don’t have many options. FRIDAY trash out? Why NOT A POLL?