Marsh: New trash barrels helping keep Lynn clean

LYNN – Domed trash cans that virtually pay for themselves are helping to clean up downtown and could come to a neighborhood near you.”We looked for something aesthetically pleasing that would keep the trash in the barrels,” said Community Development Director James Marsh. “And the bonus is we can put advertising on them.”It was about one year ago that city officials and downtown residents met to discuss the growing problem of scratch tickets, cups and general trash blowing around the streets of downtown Lynn. Marsh said a big part of the problem was the antique trash cans that initially looked nice but were too small, were easily attacked by rats and were showing their age.”They got full too fast and if people put large trash bags in them they got full in one fell swoop,” he said. “They were contributing to the blight.”Marsh had the trash cans removed from Market Street altogether but that didn’t solve the problem of trash.After much discussion, the Department of Public Works rolled out a new barrel that thus far seems to be working. Marsh said they took a typical 30-gallon drum, painted it a glossy black and created a dome top that could be locked into place. The top has an opening for easy access but not so large that it allows for large bags of trash and the lock prevents residents from using the cans as their own personal trash receptacles, he added.The new cans were a collaboration of community Development, the DPW, the mayor’s office and downtown residents such as Juan Gonzales and Jolene Kelly, Marsh added.Seth Albaum, a downtown resident and local activist, also had a hand in the project through Gonzales and Kelly, he said. He said he has only heard two complaints about the new cans: That they don’t like to touch the flaps over the lid openings and that there is no public recyclingAlbaum said he agrees with the recycling complaint.”I was originally hoping for recycling barrels, but that idea was shot down pretty fast,” he said.On the plus side, however, Albaum said the barrels are working.”We no longer have the unsightly accumulation of trash between the rubber barrels and the metal cages of the ?antique’ style receptacles, rats can’t get into them, and they reduce illegal dumping because you can’t fit a large bag through the hole,” he said. “No trash can is going to stop someone intent on littering, but I have noticed a difference. There is less of it now.”The cans are also considerably cheaper than the antique barrels.”The antique barrels cost almost $3,000 apiece,” Marsh said. “To do these it’s a little over $100 because they are done in house.”The cost of producing the barrels in house is also being offset by the ability to advertise on them. Marsh said DPW workers have welded frames onto the front of each barrel to allow downtown businesses, or any business, to advertise for $100 per year.The aim is downtown businesses, but he said, “We’re not adverse to doing it wherever. We’ll expand it if it works ? it’s a very small investment.”John’s Roast Beef, Arts After Hours and the Veterans Memorial Auditorium have already signed on and Marsh said the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce is getting involved as well.Albaum said the barrels are “a great example of residents, businesses and the city working together to find a solution. When your company or organization is on the barrel, you’re going to want it kept up and the area around it clean.”Anyone wishing to advertise or have a barrel near their business should email [email protected] or call community development at 781-586-6770.