UPDATE Monday, July 14: The Republic Services trash strike is now in its third week. The striking workers and Republic Services are set to meet next on Tuesday, July 15. Stay the Current for new developments.
Marblehead Public Health Director Andrew Petty answered questions from residents and the Board of Health Thursday night. Republic has two trucks with replacement workers collecting trash Monday-Saturday in Marblehead; however, many residents report their trash has not been picked up.
“Marblehead has close to 300 streets. It’s 4 square miles and very densely populated,” Petty said. “It becomes complicated for the drivers.”
He urges residents whose trash is not picked up to call or email the Health Department, so he can add their address to the missed-street list.
“It has been extremely difficult,” Petty said. “We have suspended service for recycling, and we’re just concentrating on trash collection. That is the greatest health concern.”
People who don’t drive or are handicapped can contact the Health Department for assistance in getting their trash to the Transfer Station.
Thursday night, Petty clarified that residents should leave their trash out if it is not picked up. Once trash is collected, residents should bring their empty barrels back inside.
The Transfer Station is open to all Marblehead residents during the strike. The hours are 7:30 a.m.-3:25 p.m., Monday-Saturday. It is closed from 12-1 p.m. each day.
Typically, Republic delivers all the trash it collects in Marblehead to the Transfer Station. All recycling picked up, however, is carted away and sold.
Now, the Transfer Station is being inundated with recycling brought in by residents.
Petty said the Transfer Station sees about 1,000 cars on a busy day. During the strike, that number has doubled.
Resident Jonathan Lederman asked whether the Transfer Station could hire extra workers and extend its hours during the strike. Petty said those weren’t good options.
Sneaking in
Petty expressed concern that non-residents are sneaking into the Transfer Station during the strike. Member Tom McMahon said he’ll be there Saturday, checking people’s registrations to make sure they live in town.
McMahon encourages locals to settle into the idea of the strike and roll up their sleeves.
“Assume that this strike is ongoing. If you didn’t have trash service ever again, what would you do?” he asked. “Get your hands dirty. We need a little more self-reliance and helping your neighbor… and then we cruise through this.”
McMahon said his 78-year-old mother is bringing her trash to the Transfer Station.
Money back?
Republic charges about $20,000 a week for curbside trash and recycling collection. Asked whether it will reimburse the town for weeks missed during the strike, Petty said he hadn’t looked into that yet.
The town’s contract with Republic ends in September 2026, and Petty has started meeting with new companies.
“We want to have a contract resolved this fall, so trucks can be built for 2026,” he said.
The town will likely move to automated trash collection (with trucks that have robot arms to pick up barrels), with each residence allowed one trash and one recycling barrel, according to Petty.
