SHREWSBURY – Recent issues regarding the collection of yard waste have prompted Shrewsbury officials to postpone collection of yard waste altogether until further notice.
However, residents will be able to drop their yard waste off at the highway garage at 211 South Street through June 3.
Town Manager Kevin Mizikar addressed some of the “challenges” that the town has been having during the Board of Selectmen meeting on Tuesday.
“We’ve been working diligently with our contractor, Waste Management, but unfortunately they don’t have staffing sufficient to perform yard waste [collection] in the communities that they operate in,” Mizikar said.
He said Waste Management has prioritized their resources to ensure the collection of trash and recycling.
“We don’t foresee any issues with that,” Mizikar said.
Because of Waste Management’s staffing levels and “inconsistency we have experienced with them over the past few weeks,” though, Mizikar said the town has put an indefinite postponement on the yard waste collection.
“We certainly don’t take this lightly and it is embarrassing,” Mizikar said. “We’re disappointed that we’re not able to provide the services that we expect at the level that we expect and what we’ve contracted for.”
Mizikar assured residents that all obligations and actions available to the town under its contract with Waste Management will be enforced “to the best interest of the town.”
The matter will be reviewed with Town Counsel, he said, and the town is working on developing a path forward in regards to the contract.
In the meantime, Mizikar said the town is working on alternative ways to collect yard waste. That includes having town staff or other contractors or companies collecting it.
Shrewsbury residents have posted on social media noting missed yard waste collection.
The town, itself, has regularly posted updates on when yard waste collection was postponed and alternative options for residents to get rid of their waste.
Currently, residents can drop off their yard waste at the garage on weekdays between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Additionally, Shrewsbury plans to offer evening drop off hours. The first of those was set for Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. as of Thursday morning. The town plans to notify residents when new evening dates are selected.
Shrewsbury residents can also drop off their waste on Saturday, May 14, from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
“I’m sorry to have to ask residents to do this, but it’s our best option at this point,” Mizikar said of the drop off.
RELATED CONTENT
Upcoming yard waste pickup program in Shrewsbury begins April 22
Shrewsbury DPW shares annual report with Selectmen
Hudson Citizens Group calls for town-wide curbside recycling and trash pickup
