SAUGUS — Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree announced in a press release that effective July 1, the Town of Saugus will transition its solid waste and recycling hauling services to Capitol Waste Services, Inc., located at 1222 Bennington St., East Boston, MA, 02128.
Monday marked the final day of service from Saugus’ previous hauler, Republic Services.
“The Town of Saugus appreciates the patience and understanding of our residents over the past several years as we navigated challenges with trash and recycling pickup,” Crabtree said. “Moving forward with Capitol Waste Services represents not only a significant financial savings for Saugus taxpayers but also an opportunity to improve the delivery and reliability of these essential services.”
Residents are advised that some initial growing pains may occur during the transition period. “We ask for your continued patience and understanding as we work closely with Capitol Waste Services to ensure a smooth transition. We are confident that this change will lead to better, more consistent service for all residents, provide significant financial savings for taxpayers and address the things that matter most to our community,” Crabtree added.
He also noted that Republic Services has faced reports of a strike occurring. The strike has officially begun, affecting 15 nearby communities.
This switch to Capitol Waste Services also comes after a key vote in Special Town Meeting on May 5, which involved switching to automated waste collection.
The vote was focused on a new bylaw: Solid Waste, Trash and Recycling Modernization Bylaw. This bylaw would “modernize and streamline the Town’s approach to the management and collection of solid waste, trash and recycling and to advance goals of environmental sustainability, operational efficiency, and public health,” according to Article 1 of the Special Town Meeting.
During that meeting, Crabtree had emphasized that the bylaw would help the Town begin looking towards the future. Other than saving money, another positive was that the change to an automotive pickup would keep the Town cleaner. It ultimately resulted in a unanimous “yes” from Town Meeting.
In the coming days and weeks, additional information will be provided to residents regarding service details and updates, according to the release.
“The Town’s goal is to maintain the current manual collection services initially, and ensure that white goods collection, recycling frequency and method, leaf collection and other related services will continue in the same manner as residents are accustomed to, while planning an educational and informational campaign over the next year, which will give us more time for careful planning and is a positive step forward for our community as we prepare for a future transition to automated waste collection services,” it continued.
Residents with any questions or concerns are encouraged to contact Director of Solid Waste and Recycling Scott Brazis at (781) 231-4036 or [email protected].
