What Should You Do When You Have More Than Two Barrels of Trash?

You’re having a party and you wind up having more than two barrels of trash, which is now the limit for trash collection. What should you do?

The North Reading Department of Public Works is asking residents with more than two barrels of trash because of “onetime” events, such as a graduation, holiday, etc., to contact the DPW by phone or email before noon on Monday. You should include your name, phone number, address and estimated number of barrels/bags over the two-barrel/two-bag limit.

The DPW will then create a request list for JRM to give to trash collection crews. The town will keep track of which residences are requesting extra trash pickup.

You should call the DPW at 978-664-6060 and leave a voice mail or message any time before the Monday noon cutoff, or you can email jstudley@northreadingma.gov.

If you don’t notify the DPW, JRM will not automatically pick up the extra barrels or bags.

Another important note is that trash collectors will not pick up trash generated ”from home renovation/construction (construction & demolition debris), basement clean-outs, etc.” Instead, the homeowner should “find alternate disposal. Options include... roll offs, pickup by another trash vendor, a Bagster (available at Lowes, Home Depot, etc.),” according to the DPW.

The DPW said:

“The allowance per household is two 35-gallon barrels or bags, totaling 70 gallons. Each barrel filled with trash should not weigh more than 40 pounds (rule of thumb-should be able to lift off of the ground with one arm). Individual barrels up to 65 gallons are generally OK so long as the weight is 40 pounds or less, but larger sizes (95 gallons, etc.) are not allowed because they are above the 70 gallon capacity and generally weigh well above 40 pounds when full.

“The implementation has been very successful so far and we have only received 3-4 calls per week from households that request an exemption from the limit. In our experience, a family of 4-5 that recycles can fit all of their weekly trash in the two barrel/ bag limit. When we receive a request, we verify the number of occupants in the home and visit the home to verify the amount of trash & check to see if the household is recycling. So far, we have found that just about every household requesting an exemption does not have recycle bins at the curb on Tuesday.

“The DPW realizes that there are extenuating circumstances that may prevent a household from meeting the barrel limit and will work with these residents to find a solution.

“Please contact the Department of Public Works at 978-664-6060 if you need assistance regarding this.”