Reading Faces Unexpected Waste Collection Delays

READING, MA — Surprise delays with waste pickup in Reading last week were the result of issues related to waste hauling company Republic Services's acquisition of the Reading's now former waste hauler, JRM Hauling and Recycling, according to the town.

The town of Reading provided an update on social media on Sunday after previously noting multiple missed trash and recycling pickups last week.

The delays caused confusion and questions. The town over the weekend said Republic's purchase of the Peabody-based JRM had fully taken effect in recent days. As such, the town said Republic moved some local operations from Peabody to Tyngsboro without the knowledge of Reading municipal officials.

This caused delays and issues with collection for some Reading neighborhoods according to Reading officials.

“The Town of Reading would like to apologize to all of its residents for the lack of attention this past week by Republic Services with rubbish and recycling collection,” the town said.

A Republic spokesperson acknowledged the issues on Monday, thanking customers for their patience in recent days.

"We understand the inconvenience this has caused to our customers, and we are working diligently to get back on schedule this week," the spokesperson said in a statement to Patch.

The Republic spokesperson said the company's Northern Massachusetts division "has experienced some delays" during transition around the JRM acquisition.

"We are committed to this community, we are proud to serve this community, and we thank them for their patience during this time," the spokesperson said.

A publicly-traded national company based in Arizona, Republic has been on a buying spree of late, noting in a federal Securities Exchange Commission filing in March that it planned to invest roughly $500 million in additional acquisitions before the end of 2022.

Republic moved to acquire JRM in April, closing the deal in May, according to various reports and announcements from area municipalities. Republic gained a number of new clients with its acquisition of JRM, including Arlington, Reading and Melrose, among others.

Arlington and Melrose both addressed the move in late May and June, saying local service likely would not be impacted.

“Many of JRM’s resources, including equipment and personnel, are expected to continue under Republic’s new management,” Melrose Director of Public Works Elena Proakis Ellis told the community in a statement in May. “While we don’t expect any changes to service, our top priorities will be to proactively address any issues and continue to communicate with the community as Republic adapts to serving Melrose.”

Recent weeks have seen complaints mount in some Republic communities, though, with officials in Lawrence expressing frustration late last month, as reported by the Eagle Tribune.

Reading officials said over the weekend that Republic “was supposed to come back in to finish any collection on Saturday.” That didn’t happen, according to the town.

Officials said this weekend that anyone with uncollected trash and recycling should place that waste on their curb for pickup.

“We are hopeful that Republic will have resolved all of their issues in this week’s collection,” the town said.

Trash collection is scheduled to be delayed by one day this week due to the Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day holiday.

In the meantime, the town said on Sunday that it “shares resident frustrations” around recent waste hauling issues.

“Please be assured that the Town is actively mitigating this matter as best they can and will continue to communicate with Republic Services and hold them accountable to our residents' needs,” the town continued.