Trash Pickup To Resume Amid Sanitation Workers' Strike Across North Shore, Greater Boston

MASSACHUSETTS — Trash and garbage pickup was set to resume in some cities and towns — but not others — across the North Shore served by Republic Services on Wednesday, despite an ongoing Local 25 Teamsters Union sanitation workers' strike.

Leaders in multiple cities and towns, who told residents to pull back their curbside trash and recycling barrels on Tuesday, advised them to put them back out for Wednesday morning, as Republic hoped to resume most collections.

• Trash Strike Leaves North Shore, Greater Boston Residents Holding Their Bags

Peabody joined Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Swampscott, Topsfield, North Reading, Arlington, Watertown, Canton, Malden, Wakefield, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Gloucester and Lynnfield as communities seeking contingency plans as trash bags pile up at the hottest time of the year.

Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt said on Tuesday night that the one-day delay in pickup would include pickup on the July 4 holiday on Friday and on Saturday to make up for the day lost earlier in the week.

• Take In Your Trash: Peabody Mayor Says No Pickup Tuesday As Strike Looms

"There will be no white goods pickup this week and white goods will not be accepted at the Department of Public Services facility until further notice," Bettencourt said. "Like all of you, I hope an agreement can be reached soon that represents a fair resolution for the employees and their families."

Yet, while collections resumed in some locations, they did not in others.

Swampscott and Danvers officials posted on Tuesday that there would be no collections at all this week and that "Republic has assured us that they will resume full operations on (July 7), and will collect two weeks' worth of trash and recycling."

"While you may see Republic Services trucks traveling through Danvers during this time, they will not be performing any curbside collection," Danvers officials said.

Some cities and towns, such as Danvers and Marblehead, created free options for drop off this week because of the delays, while private collection companies advertised deals for those whose garbage bags were already starting to pile up.

Marblehead opened its transfer station free for Marblehead residents, while Danvers officials said Danvers residents can drop off trash and recycling at the Department of Public Works at 95 Hobart Street on Wednesday and Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to noon. (EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an update from previous versions of this story.)

Beverly officials said its yard waste compost site, which is run by Republic, was closed as of Tuesday, and that other composting services from Republic were also suspended.

Teamsters Local 25 set up four picket lines in Peabody Tuesday morning, along with those in Revere, Roxbury, Quincy and Holbrook.

The union said its 400 workers are fighting for "fair wages, better working conditions, and respect for all workers."

Republic Services said in a statement: "Republic Services has negotiated in good faith to provide our employees with a fair and competitive compensation and benefits package. It is truly unfortunate that our latest offer was voted down. At this time, we are unable to predict the duration of the labor strike. We are committed to working with the union to reach an agreement. We will keep you apprised of the situation."

The strike comes as many communities have streamlined their waste collection in recent years amid rapidly rising costs — with many restricting the amount of trash and recycling that can be placed curbside in a given week and charging fees for collection.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)