Trash and recycling haulers say don't disrupt our 'ballet'
An organization that represents many of the state's trash and recycling haulers on Thursday urged lawmakers not to advance legislation that could prevent them from operating late at night and early in the morning.
"We've lived for the last 30 or so years with an exemption to collect materials in towns throughout the Commonwealth 24/7 in commercial, industrial and business zones. We'd like to keep that," said Steve Changaris, the northeast regional manager for the National Waste & Recycling Association. "We're very sensitive to the work we do -- early morning collections, late night collections -- and we always try to work with the communities to iron out any problems."
Changaris told the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government that a member of his organization describes the many moving parts involved in trash hauling and disposal as "as an orchestra or a ballet." That ballet, he said, would be thrown out of rhythm if S 1061 were to become law.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Cynthia Creem, would delete the words "business, commercial or" from the law that currently prevents any restriction on the hours of the day when garbage can be collected in business, commercial or industrial zones.
The NWRA estimates that the bill would require a third of the garbage trucks in the state to be on the road during busier hours, like during the morning commute.
"We are not the generators of the waste materials, but we are the collectors. We make these things disappear, as people think, off of our streets, take them to a safe disposal location," Ben Harvey, owner of E.L. Harvey and Sons in Westborough and a national board member for NWRA, said. "We need the ability to continue to provide round-the-clock service to get the job done that we need to do efficiently every day."
During the committee hearing, Salem City Council President Arthur Sargent spoke in support of the bill, telling the committee that he is often woken up either late at night or early in the morning to the sounds of a dumpster "being lifted 20 feet in the air, turned over and dumped 10 feet into a truck."
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