CUMBERLAND – Town officials say complaints about trash and recycling pickups from MEGA Disposal have quieted somewhat, as they look to further improve the service.
Mayor Jeff Mutter had previously suggested that the town could consider a return back to weekly recycling pickups instead of the new bi-weekly schedule, but said this week they’ve decided on a different approach for now.
The town will be opening one or two locations where people will be able to bring their extra cardboard if they wish, as cardboard seems to be the item taking up the most space in bins, said Mutter. Hopefully, he said, that attempt to accommodate people will address the situation somewhat.
Internally, the town is also moving a clerk into public works to handle calls of complaint on waste services, said Mutter, such as on missed stops. Recycling Coordinator John Kissik has been handling many of those calls as he could, he said, and this will make for a better service overall.
That clerk will be able to help the town monitor the situation with MEGA on a daily basis, said Mutter, allowing officials to pinpoint situations and trends and figure out exactly which complaints are valid.
He said he and Kissik met with MEGA a week ago and went over some of the challenges the town has been experiencing. These two main steps will be first orders of business before they decide on larger changes with waste service, said the mayor.
He said he hesitates to be too positive about current trends, but said calls about spotty trash service have declined significantly. He said people have grown accustomed to which week they’re supposed to put their recycling out as well.
The town has a certain amount of time before making a decision on going back to weekly recycling service, said Mutter. He said the move was meant to save money without reducing services.
In talking with MEGA, he said, every other community served by the company that has gone to recycling every other week has ended up staying with it.
“It’s to be determined, but the trend has been positive,” the mayor said.
The town will be announcing where the locations to bring dry cardboard are.
