Trash barrels removed from Lynn Street

LYNN – Ornamental trash receptacles that used to dot Market Street were removed this week because the wrought-iron structures contributed to the downtown trash problem rather than help, Community Development Director James Marsh said Friday.”They were adding to the blight and were ineffective,” Marsh said.The “barrels” were 30-gallon wrought iron slatted structures fitted with heavy plastic inserts. A few still exist in City Hall Square.The problem, Marsh said, is that rats chewed through the plastic inserts in many of the barrels causing trash to spill onto the street and sidewalks, Marsh said. Trash was also easily caught between the insert and the wrought iron slats because, Marsh said, residents tended to use the structures like Dumpsters, throwing garbage bags of trash into the barrels.”It was disgusting,” Marsh said, noting the barrels were not emptied enough and seldom cleaned.Strolling down Market Street Friday, Marsh pointed to a largely clean sidewalk, save for cigarette butts and gum wrappers.”It’s cleaner now without (the barrels),” he said.Not all business owners agree.Two Market Street business owners said they noticed the barrels’ absence and think Market Street – a main Lynn shopping venue – is dirtier without the barrels.”We need them really bad. What are pedestrians going to do with their trash?” asked restaurateur Tatiana Delgado.Delgado said she sweeps Tatiana’s entranceway and the sidewalk in front of her door mornings and evenings, and said Market Street is “getting dirtier” without the barrels. North Shore Vacuum Cleaner shop owner Wayne Simonelli said the city needs to bring the barrels back, including one formerly located near his store.”I used to have to go out and empty it myself, but at least people used it. Now people have no place to throw trash. I go out and sweep and see people throw scratch tickets on the ground,” he said.Delgado said Market Street needs barrels that won’t overflow and are outfitted with easy-to-lift covers that won’t discourage pedestrians from dumping their trash. Simonelli said “barrels that blend in” are one of the ways to keep Market Street clean.Marsh said more business owners need to be like Delgado and Simonelli and sweep the sidewalk in front of their business, which he said is their responsibility. However, he said he is not against bringing trash cans back, just not the same type of ornamental ones.Munroe Street has larger trash cans with fitted lids that have smaller openings, prohibiting residents from dropping in large garbage bags from home. Ideally those are the cans Marsh said he would like to see on Market Street.Department of Public Works Acting Chief Manuel Alcantara said he is in talks with the vocational high school to weld similar lids onto the ornamental cans, but Marsh said they are “too small and ineffective; we don’t want those back.”Ward 5 Councilor Brendan Crighton, chairman of the Central Business District subcommittee, where the trash issue was first raised on Tuesday, said it’s not a simple issue to solve.”You have trash, you put out trash barrels, but there are a lot of variables at play,” he said. Crighton added, “(Tuesday) was only an introductory meeting. There will be a number of other chances to discuss this.”Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected] Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].