City's automated waste removal plan rolls out May 1

LACONIA — With automated waste removal services set to begin May 1 in the city, trash and recycling toters will be delivered to residents between April 17 and 28, according to a press release from the Department of Public Works. 

Single-family homes and multi-family apartments with four or fewer units will receive one 64-gallon container for trash and one 96-gallon container for recycling under the new system, the release notes. Buildings with more than four residential units or multiple businesses will receive four of each type of container. Residents older than 65 or that have a disability can request smaller containers for ease of use.

Both of these allotments will provide residents with more volume for trash disposal but in fewer containers than the current system, per the release. Now, single-family homes are limited to two 30-gallon cans and large apartments to seven 30-gallon cans.

Another major change to the system, though, requires that all waste fit in the toters with the lid fully closed. 

“The driver will not get out of the truck to collect bagged trash that is above the rim of the container and will not collect cardboard boxes that are beside the containers,” the release emphasized. “Residents and businesses can bring cardboard boxes that do not fit into the recycling container to either the transfer station or the corrugated cardboard collection point at 257 Messer Street.”

City council voted in favor of contracted, automatic waste removal services in August. Councilors also weighed the costs of manual and in-house services, and found automated services from Casella Waste Systems to be the least expensive option. 

All waste disposal options posed a steep cost increase for the city from its current system, Public Works Director Wes Anderson told councilors over the summer. The industry is starved for workers and diesel costs remain high even as gas prices settle after a summer spike. A high injury rate for those who perform manual collection adds to the increase compared to automated services.

When selecting the new system, councilors acknowledged that the change might be a challenge for some residents, but emphasized that the savings — more than $200,000 compared to manual collection — outweighed them. 

More information about automated collection can be found on the city’s website.