Listen, my children, and you shall hear, of the new trash collection program for all Revere…
Ok, my apologies to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
But the City’s revolt against rodents is about to take a historic turn. Beginning in the next few weeks, the City will supply our residential properties with heavy-duty 65-gallon trash carts that will be a vital armament this effort.
As with any momentous quest for victory, we can only achieve success when government, residents and businesses in Revere rise to the occasion. The City government has made the investment to purchase these barrels and distribute them, free of charge, to every residential property in the City. In addition, we have committed $150,000 to retain exterminators to respond to resident notifications about rodent activity on their property.
While many don’t like to hear it, the truth behind the City’s rodent problem lies in our own bad habits. Overflowing trash barrels, the use of flimsy trash bags left lying on sidewalks, overgrown shrubbery and careless disposal of garbage are a dinner bell for rats and rodents. Sanitation efforts are the only effective long-term mechanism to stave off the hordes.
The City is investing the necessary treasure into the battle, and now every resident is enlisted into our force. Our battle cry is “Let’s Keep Revere Clean.”
When your new barrel is delivered, you will receive a flier with complete instructions on how to use it and how to store your trash. The new barrels will each have a serial number that will be tracked. These new barrels will bear the City stamp and will be the ONLY kind of barrel that will be collected during weekly curbside pickup. Fines will be issued for trash bags left on the ground, and trash collectors will not take any receptacle that is not a city-issued barrel.
Residents who find that a single 65-gallon receptacle is inadequate to meet their disposal needs may purchase an additional 65-gallon barrel from the City at a one-time cost of $150, or $75 for senior citizens. You can order a cart through the City’s 3-1-1 constituent services hotline.
Six weeks per year, coinciding with New Year’s, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, overflow trash in non-city-issued receptacles will be permitted. But even on these overflow weeks, residents are prohibited from leaving plastic trash bags on the ground.
In addition, between 7 a.m. and noon on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, residents may bring overflow trash to the DPW City Yard at 321R Charger Street for disposal.
Yes, this is an important issue, and we are taking it seriously. Revere is one of the few communities that continues to routinely provide free curbside pickup, but our lenient restrictions on the use of trash receptacles has abetted a casual regard for trash collection practices and property upkeep.
While we will give residents time to adapt to the new trash collection procedures and requirements, our Department of Inspectional Services will intensify enforcement of trash disposal regulations. Those who disregard this effort will be subject to fines. Fines will be issued for trash bags left on the ground. The new barrels are equipped with a secure lid, and failure to use the lid, or piling trash above the rim of the barrel, will also subject a resident to fines.
Is this a battle? You bet it is. Yes, Longfellow wrote of Paul Revere’s ride to rally the Colonists to fight against the invading British. But rodents are a more insidious and pervasive enemy, and it will take an army of residents conscious of sanitary practices to repel the invasion of rodents who roam loose on our streets and in our yards. The days of doing nothing, or not enough, have come to an end.
