WORCESTER—If you’ve ever tried to recycle on the go in Worcester and ended up chucking your soda can into a lone trash bin (because hey, it’s better than throwing it on the ground), you’re not alone—and the city is finally doing something about it.
This week, the Department of Sustainability & Resilience (DSR), in partnership with Public Works & Parks, launched a month-long pilot program introducing 30 public dual-stream waste bins that separate trash and recycling. It’s the city’s latest move to align with goals in the Green Worcester Plan and the Strategic Plan.
“Installing public dual-stream waste bins is a key priority,” the DSR stated in a communication to the city council. “This pilot marks an important milestone toward our goal of making Worcester a cleaner, more sustainable city.”
The first 29 bins (one fewer than the 30 originally planned) were installed in the Green Island neighborhood and along Grafton Street up to Hamilton Street. Officials picked these locations based on the results of a public crowdsourcing tool that garnered more than 900 suggestions for locations. City staff also considered litter complaints, sidewalk width, ADA compliance, pedestrian density, and nearby transit routes.
During last week’s city council meeting, Councilor Luis Ojeda pushed for the involvement of neighborhood network centers in the rollout. “Some of these locations are near network centers,” he said, urging DSR to engage with community groups to help monitor and support the program. John Odell, the city’s chief sustainability officer, acknowledged the suggestion, saying his department “cast a wide net” for input and would follow up with those centers moving forward.
Odell noted that while there’s strong public interest, demand far exceeds the current supply. “We won’t be able to put them everywhere that everyone would like them,” he said. “But we’re hopeful the 150 we do plan to install, the balance of which will be done in July, will make a significant impact.”
Casella, the city’s recycling service provider, will handle waste collection during the pilot—initially three times a week, with adjustments as needed. The company is using the trial period to help estimate long-term service costs. The pilot is funded by $500,000 that must be used by June 30.
Ojeda also praised the city’s effort to incorporate public art into the bins. “It’s good to see more art in our city… to drive by and know whose art that is,” he said.
Odell said the vendor chosen for the bins beat out higher-cost competitors, including Big Belly, a company known for solar-powered compactors. “Big Belly’s upfront costs were about five times more,” Odell explained.
The bins the city chose also do a better job of preventing contamination between trash and recycling, and discourages residents from skirting Worcester’s yellow trash bag program, said Odell.
As a bonus, the new bins are designed to accommodate two-thirds of their exterior space for advertisements, a potential future revenue stream.
Councilor George Russell voiced strong support for sponsorship opportunities from local universities and nonprofits. “This would be a great place for one of the colleges to pick up the tab and put their logo on it,” he said, adding that the initiative should extend into neighborhoods that face chronic litter issues.
Council Vice Chair Khrystian King highlighted the tech aspect of the bins. “To get [fill sensors] at a lower cost is huge,” King said, crediting resident activist Noah Rose for originally pushing for smart waste technology through a council order.
City Manager Eric Batista confirmed the bins could eventually include sensors that alert the city when they’re full. “We want to test them out before launching an advertising program,” he added.
When asked if residents were limited to one vote on the crowdsourcing tool, Odell clarified that while there were more than 900 unique responses, some respondents did suggest multiple locations.
As Worcester tests the waters on smarter waste management, residents walking through Green Island or along Grafton Street may want to take note of the new recycling-on-the run options.
Have news, tips, or a story worth telling? Reach Editor Charlene Arsenault at carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org—because good stories (and great scoops) deserve to be shared.
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