Chris Osgood, Boston’s Chief of Streets, and Brian Coughlin, Public Works Superintendent, addressed the North End / Waterfront Neighborhood Council (NEWNC) this week regarding the upcoming changes to citywide trash collection services. Specifically, there is a new weekly schedule and pickup start time for the North End and downtown neighborhoods.
North End / Waterfront trash and recycling collections will change to Mondays and Thursdays, instead of Fridays, as of July 1. In addition, trash and recycling collection will begin at 6 a.m., moving up one hour from the current start time of 7 a.m. Also, Thursday street sweeping will be moved to Fridays.
City officials said that the earlier start time will allow workers to get a jump-start on their day-long collection efforts, reducing congestion on city streets during peak hours. The switch from Friday to Thursday will allow small businesses to receive deliveries in advance of the weekend. In addition, Public Works will have more resources to fix collection issues on Fridays rather than getting calls over the weekend.
NEWNC’s Tania Green raised the issue of noise at 6 a.m. from the trash collection vehicles. DPW said they attempt to cover main commercial arteries at the earliest hours, rather than small residential streets. Vice President John Pregmon expressed concern that the earlier time change will encourage more residents to put out the trash the night before, leaving it on the street longer for rats and trash pickers. In addition, some residents may miss the 6 a.m. start and trash will not picked up at all. He also noted that recycling is often not picked up until the afternoon.
Abutters of Bartlett Place complained about the area having become an informal central dump along Salem Street. City officials said they will investigate enforcement and communicate with neighboring buildings. Some bikes have been locked at the site for over a year, according to abutters. Morton Street was also mentioned as a site where trash collects and houses more than its share of trash receptacles.
You can look up your collection schedule and learn what items can be recycled on the city’s Trash and Recycling Day page. There’s also an app that allows users to set reminders and receive notifications of any schedule changes.
City officials said they will be actively following 311 complaints when the new schedule goes into effect on July 1st. Residents are encouraged to use the 311 hotline, available online at Boston.gov/311 and via the app to report trash problems.
Note: There will be regular trash and recycling collection on Thursday, July 4th.
