What happened to bulk trash pickup?
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at 01:06PM ;)
When the Board of Aldermen voted on the new trash contract last year, several of us asked how Newton residents would throw out items that were too large to fit in the trash carts. We were assured that any items that did not fit in the trash cart would be picked up if a resident called DPW to schedule a pick-up.
Now it appears that promise has been broken. According to DPW staff, the new policy is to limit the pick-up of additional items to five per week and to impose size restrictions on what will be picked up. When I called to schedule the pick-up of an old rug, I was told that it needed to be cut to not more than four feet in length. But if I did that, it would fit in my trash cart. I thought the point of bulk pick-up is to allow residents to throw things out that don't fit in the cart.
I'm going to look into this situation more, but it seems to me there has been a policy change without public input or deliberation that significantly degrades the quality of public services in Newton. When I learn more, I'll post it here.
Reader Comments (1)
My rug was eventually picked up, but my phone calls to DPW asking for an explanation of the policy change have yet to be returned. . .