Massachusetts haulers lobby to keep overnight hours

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Washington, is reportedly helping trash and recycling haulers in Massachusetts lobby to retain flexible hours for running their routes.

An article in the Worcester Business Journal quotes a regional NWRA official as saying its members “work with communities to iron out” any problems pertaining to early morning or late night collections.

The NWRA’s Steve Changaris made the comments in regard to a proposed Massachusetts bill, S 1061, that would add commercial waste and recycling collection routes to an existing law that restricts residential collection hours.

The NWRA contends the bill would lead to additional trucks on Massachusetts roads and streets during already busy daylight hours. Recycling and hauling company owner Ben Harvey of E.L. Harvey and Sons, Westborough, Massachusetts, is quoted by the Worcester paper as saying, “We are not the generators of the waste materials, but we are the collectors. We need the ability to continue to provide round-the-clock service to get the job done that we need to do efficiently every day.”

A city council president from Salem, Massachusetts who supports the bill is quoted as saying he has sleep interrupted by collection bins “being lifted 20 feet in the air, turned over and dumped 10 feet into a truck.”