As the trash strike reaches 17 days, half a dozen affected communities have gone to court seeking assistance dealing with issues arising due to the strike.
A complaint seeking injunctive relief from Republic Services to abate the public health problems resulting from the strike was filed Thursday by municipal leaders from Beverly, Gloucester, Malden, Peabody, Danvers and Canton in Essex County Superior Court in Salem, reports WCVB Channel 5.
Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill sent an announcement to residents about the legal action, and noted that Beverly plans to assess Republic for liquidated damages for trash and recycling not being picked up, or delayed collection. Beverly plans to withhold the amount from its next payment to Republic Services.
Earlier this week, Watertown City Manager George Proakis said that Watertown plans to assess liquidated damages for the costs related to the lack of trash and recycling collection, including running a drop-off center for trash and recycling.
It is not clear when the strike will end. Republic and Teamsters Local 25 met on Tuesday but did not come to an agreement. The next date has not been announced, and it was reported that Republic offered to meet Friday, but the union did not agree.
Trash and recycling continues to be collected in Watertown by replacement crews from Republic. On Wednesday, the City sent out an update saying that an additional vendor will assist Republic to complete Tuesday’s trash route and begin Wednesday’s. The same is planned for recycling collection around town.
Watertown’s emergency trash and recycling drop-off site at 148 Waltham Street will be open through Friday, July 18 from 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Residents can drop-off up to three bags of household trash and/or the equivalent amount of recycling that would fit in your bins. Residents may have to show a driver’s license or utility bill to confirm Watertown residency.
Due to the anticipated delays, City officials also asked residents to wait 48 hours to report a missed pickup. Residents can call the City’s 311 Service Center, on SeeClickFix or the Watertown MA App to report missed pickups.
For the latest updates, visit the City’s Trash Strike page at https://watertown-ma.gov/1533/Republic-Strike-Updates