Medford’s trash situation has hit a rough patch as the city plans to cut curb‑side pickups from once a week to every other week. The change comes on top of a $200,000 “Pay As You Throw” grant that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection awarded the town.
Mayor Breanna Lungo‑Koehn, a Democrat and a recent recipient of the National Recycling Coalition’s “Outstanding Elected Leader” award, framed the move as a step toward a Zero Waste future.
In a press release she said the city was committed to helping residents and businesses “reduce, reuse, and recycle… to restore or renew value, eliminate waste, and decrease pollution.” She also highlighted the grant as a boost to the town’s waste‑management budget.
The new schedule will collect the 64‑gallon trash bins that residents currently use only 32 gallons’ worth of waste per week. Lungo‑Koehn noted that the adjusted volume meets the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s PAYT eligibility threshold, which is part of the grant’s criteria.
However, many Medford residents are not sharing her enthusiasm. Social‑media fans on a local Facebook group posted that the new timeline will literally “make the rats come.” One angry comment said, “The exterminators’ business will increase with rubbish removal every other week. The rats are taking over our neighborhoods.”
Others weighed in on the scent of trash left to sit for days, with one resident writing, “Nobody wants to smell two weeks of garbage, particularly in the summer.”
Council President Zac Bears raised the same concerns at last week’s meeting, pointing out that the pickup schedule was buried near the bottom of the official press release.
Bears said the absence of concrete benchmarks made it hard for voters to see the benefits, and that the city was “setting up this program for failure because I think there’s no trust in it.”
He also criticized that the keystone of the proposed schedule was ignored by the headlining copy, which he felt gave people a negative first impression.
In the official release, Lungo‑Koehn summarised the change: “As of July 1, 2027, residential 64‑gallon trash carts will be collected every other week along with recycling at no charge.
The new baseline for trash service will equate to 32‑gallons per household per week.” The statement also linked the updated volume to PAYT eligibility and the grant. Yet, that critical information tucked in a single sentence was not required to be the main headline, according to the city.
Current residents are awaiting any follow‑up from the mayor’s office; when questioned, Lungo‑Koehn has not yet responded. The dispute illustrates a clash between municipal environmental goals and the day‑to‑day realities of urban living.
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