‘Minimal and Unpredictable Follow-Through’: Reading Threatens To Terminate Trash Contract

READING, MA — The town Department of Public Works (DPW) and an additional outside provider will work with Reading’s current contracted waste hauler, Republic Services, this week to resolve roughly two weeks of missed or delayed trash and recycling pickups around town, according to Town Manager Fidel Maltez.

If Republic ultimately can’t catch up by the end of the week, Maltez continued, the town will cancel its contract.

Maltez announced this plan in a statement on Monday, marking the latest step in what has been a source of frustration for town officials and Reading residents in recent weeks.

“I am proud of the way our Town staff have stepped up to respond to resident needs throughout this ordeal,” Maltez said. “We will continue to press for performance satisfaction and relief under the terms of the contract, or we will find a new contractor that can meet the sanitation needs of the community.”

A Republic spokesperson on Monday said the company has been in "constant communication with the Town of Reading," adding that the company is "working to efficiently and safely get all routes back on schedule."

"We plan to be back on schedule by the end of this week, with regular pick up days beginning next week," the spokesperson said. "We are committed to this community and are proud to serve our customers. We thank them for their patience during this time."

Reading had been served by JRM Hauling and Recycling until the larger Republic bought JRM earlier this year.

The deal added multiple area municipal clients to Republic’s service area. By the beginning of this month, though, issues with the transition from JRM to Republic services prompted delays and other impacts at the customer-level.

While the Republic spokesperson contacted this week did not provide specific reasons for the issues, the town of Reading previously flagged a relocation of old JRM services in Peabody to a new site in Tyngsboro as a contributing factor.

Officials in Melrose and Reading have both also noted staffing shortages impacting Republic in recent days.

Maltez this week said town officials have been in touch with Republic throughout recent trash and recycling delays, working to aggregate lists of missed neighborhoods while pressing Republic to fulfill the terms of its contract.

Some of these efforts, Maltez said, have been met with “minimal and unpredictable follow-through on the part of the company.”

Republic has said it is working toward resolving issues. As issues have lingered, though, the town has opted to hire the Franklin-based Boston Carting as an additional provider to bring in dumpsters and trucks. DPW personnel will operate front loaders and dump trucks to conduct collection operations this week, according to Maltez.

Maltez said on Monday that the town will charge additional expenses due to recent issues to Republic under the terms of its current contract.

He said the town has notified Republic of its plan to terminate the contract by the end of the week if issues aren’t resolved.

“The Town continues to work with legal counsel to explore all options to recover damages as needed,” Maltez said.

Republic has faced criticism for waste pickup delays in communities including Lawrence in recent weeks.

Other locations, such as Melrose, have been spared the worst of the delays.