LYNN — The city is undertaking two initiatives with outside companies in the interest of making Lynn cleaner.
The first program is with Creative Outdoor Advertising, which is providing at no cost to the city receptacles that have three slots: one for trash disposal, one for paper materials to be recycled and a third for other recyclables.
Creative Outdoor Advertising will provide 34 barrels that will be placed in the downtown and other commercial districts. There is no cost to the city and Creative Outdoor will be responsible for installation and weekly maintenance, i.e. emptying the barrels. The company derives revenue by selling advertising space to local businesses on the sides of the barrels.
The city will also be able to monitor the units through a Creative Outdoor web portal and report any issues that need to be addressed.
The city and Creative Outdoor have also entered into a partnership with RAW Art Works whereby any barrels on which the ad space has not been sold will display art created by youth artists.
“We are working with Creative Outdoor Advertising because they provide very detailed attention to their barrels,” said Lauren Drago, associate planning director for the city. “It will be easy to report issues and someone from Creative Outdoor will check on each container weekly to ensure they get emptied.”
The second trash-mitigation initiative involves the purchase of 75 Bigbelly barrels that will be placed in the city’s 27 parks this spring. The barrels are bigger than a typical 55-gallon model and they contain a solar compactor, allowing for maximum capacity. There is also a component that sends an electronic message when the barrel is full.
“That will ensure they are not sitting there full, especially after a weekend,” said DPW Commissioner Andy Hall. “Litter is a big problem in the parks and people are always requesting more barrels. We need everyone to put their trash in the barrels and not on the ground.”
The Bigbelly barrels, which were purchased by the city with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, will sit on concrete foundations that will be poured by Bigbelly after the winter. This will ensure the barrels are not easily tipped over or moved.
“These two initiatives combine increased capacity with technology as we strive for a cleaner city, which is the goal for all of us,” said Mayor Jared C. Nicholson. “These barrels will help us reach that goal, but we also need all residents and visitors to be respectful of their surroundings and dispose of their trash and recyclables in a responsible manner.”
The purchase of the Bigbelly barrels is an example of putting the federal ARPA funds to good use.
“Councilor (Dianna) Chakoutis and I believe the investment of ARPA funding for the Bigbelly barrels will make a significant difference in the amount of litter that we are used to seeing scattered throughout our parks and streets,” said City Councilor Brian Field, the council’s ARPA liaison. “These, along with the Creative Outdoor units, will help alleviate some of the litter issues we are seeing. It’s not one person or one solution that will solve the problem. It’s going to take everyone to keep our city clean. We can make all the investments needed but people have to be responsible, too.”
