Updated: City to Provide Household Trash Containers

Updated

Each Haverhill household will receive both recycling and ordinary trash containers if the city switches to automated trash pickup, Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini said this morning.

The city would provide 96-gallon containers for recycling and 64-gallon containers for ordinary trash. Even after supplying households with free containers, Fiorentini said the city would still save $200,000 a year and $1.4 million over the life of the trash hauling contract.

“We would still save money,” the mayor said. He added the containers would be larger than the ones he displays on his Facebook page.

The city has been in negotiations over a new trash collection contract. Photos posted on the mayor’s official Facebook page show a collection truck with a side-mounted mechanical arm that would lift and empty a large wheeled container without the use of collection attendants. Fiorentini also says if an automated system is used , they would have to find a way to have a supplemental collection for bulk waste like couches. Initial resident reaction on the mayor’s Facebook page was negative.

Automated systems would make it immensely difficult to dispose of anything that the machine can’t ‘comprehend,’ such as things that don’t fit perfectly sticking out from the top of the barrel. I prefer the current system,” one resident wrote.

Haverhill city councilors also balked at the proposal Tuesday.

Fiorentini is also seeking residents to join his Task Force on Recycling as part of efforts he says “to keep our city clean and green!”. “Recycling is good for the environment, saves city tax dollars and cleans up our city,” he said. Those interested can apply to join the Mayor Fiorentini’s Task Force on Recycling by sending an email to [email protected].

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