Government

Watertown City Manager, Municipal Leaders Urge Swift Resolution to Trash Strike

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Watertown DPWWatertown trash and recycling pickup has been uncollected since July 1 when workers at Republic Services went on strike. Watertown City Manager George Proakis joined several mayors, town managers, and town administrators urging company Republic Services to come to a deal to end the strike that has stopped trash and recycling collection since July 1, 2025. The letter also identifies weaknesses in the company’s response to the situation, including slowness of deploying backup resources and lack of communication. See the letter below. Dear Members of the Republic Services Leadership Team,

We write to you as municipal leaders from across the region and as customers of Republic Services, regarding the ongoing work stoppage caused by stalled union negotiations.

Around Town

Trash Strike Continues, See When Pickups Could Resume

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Watertown DPWWatertown’s trash and recycling pick up will be cancelled for Wednesday, July 2. The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

Curbside trash and recycling pickup is cancelled on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, and for the remainder of this week, due to the on-going labor strike between the City’s contractor, Republic Services and their unionized workforce. Today, Republic Services informed the City of Watertown, in writing, that they will mobilize crews to provide curbside trash and recycling collection beginning again on Monday, July 7, 2025. If this does not occur, we will provide further information as it is available. Our Public Works and Communications team are communicating with the Republic Services’ team.

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Trash & Recycling Pickup in Watertown Cancelled Tuesday Due to Strike

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The City of Watertown sent out the following announcement:

Republic Services, Watertown’s trash and recycling contractor, has informed the City of Watertown that they were unable to reach an agreement with their employee union before the deadline on June 30, 2025, resulting in a labor strike beginning today, July 1, 2025. As a result, Republic Services is unable to provide curbside trash, recycling, and yard waste pickup on July 1, 2025, and the Watertown Recycling Center will be closed. The City’s composting program run by Black Earth remains on schedule. We remain in constant contact with Republic Services about contingency plans and we expect to make an announcement later today, July 1, 2025, with updates regarding tomorrow’s schedule. While this dispute is between a contractor and their employee union, we understand the impact this can have on our community and are remaining in contact with Republic Services and will be sharing an update today on the City’s website, social media, and the Everbridge Emergency Alert system.

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Potential Trash Collection Strike Could Impact Watertown Residents

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Watertown DPWWatertown trash and recycling toters. UPDATE: Due to the strike trash and recycling pickup in Watertown will be cancelled on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. See more here. Watertown residents may feel the impact of a looming strike by employees of the company that picks up trash and recycling around the City. The contract between Republic Services and Teamsters Local 25 ends on June 30, 2025, and a strike could occur if a new deal is not reached.

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See Info About New Years Hours for City Departments Trash Delays

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The New Year holiday will impact hours at City facilities, including City Hall, the Library, and the Senior Center. Also, some residents will have trash and recycling pickup delays. See more in the announcement from the City of Watertown, below. Watertown City Hall, Parker Annex, and Senior Center will be closing at noon on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, and will be closed on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2024. The Department of Public Works Office will be closing at 11 AM on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, and will be closed on New Year’s Day.

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2025 Watertown Trash and Recycling Calendar Released

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The City of Watertown sent out the 2025 Trash and Recycling Calendar. See details in the announcement below, and a preview above. Please watch your mailbox for the 2025 Trash and Recycling Calendar. In addition to the calendar showing which days your trash, recycling and yard waste will be picked up, there is also useful information about composting, how to dispose of mattresses, furniture, clothing and TVs, the hours and location of the Recycle Center and what you can bring there, and a guide to what materials are and are not recyclable. You can also see the calendar on the Trash and Recycling page, where you can also download it if you can’t find the copy that you received in the mail.

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J.R. Lowell Elementary School Fifth Graders Write What Happens to the City’s Trash

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Photo by Watertown DPWWatertown trash and recycling toters. What Should Watertown Residents Know About Where Our Trash Goes? By David Chachava, Arafat Kabir, Caroline Marsh Zinser, and Milena Rauhut

I’m pretty sure that we have all asked this question once before, where does our trash in Watertown go? Well, we have finally solved that mystery. Here’s a story about two chip bags.

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DPW Update on Waste Reduction, Recycling & Re-use

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The Department of Public Works provided the following update on trash, recycling, and re-use efforts in Watertown:

Happy New Year! 2023 was a strong continuation of the big push that was started in 2022 to help achieve our Resilient Watertown action items, as well as the City Council established goal of reducing the amount of waste sent for disposal by 30% by 2030. Watertown’s tonnage reduction is being tracked based on the City’s 2019 baseline of 8,760 tons of waste sent for disposal. Watertown sent 8,581 tons of solid waste for incineration in 2022 and reduced that amount to 8,327 tons in calendar year 2023. This decrease shows that as a city we are continuing our trajectory of reducing our trash tonnage every year, which is critical to hitting our goal.