METHUEN – The launch of the city’s new trash and recycling program under E.L. Harvey & Sons remains on schedule with new trash and recycling carts being delivered the week of Sept. 12.

During its June 28 meeting, the City Council voted 6-3 to approve a three-year contract with Harvey.

The automated cart-based program is designed to improve Methuen’s current position as one of the worst recycling communities in the state.

The city’s annual recycling rate dropped from 3,400 tons in 2017 to 2,700 tons in 2021. During that same time period, the annual trash rate climbed from 18,000 tons to 20,500 tons.

“We were becoming known as the community where you could dump your couch or mattress for free and have the Methuen taxpayer foot the bill,” said Mayor Neil Perry. “Most of the complaints I’ve received from residents over the past two-and-a-half years have had to do with trash. We’ve missed collections because the contractor can’t finish the route on time due to large trash volumes or labor shortages. On windy, stormy days, we’ve got trash and recyclables strewn all over neighborhoods. The litter on our streets, the costs and amount of trash have been getting out of control.”

Beginning on Sept. 12, each residence will receive one 64-gallon cart for weekly trash collection and one 95-gallon cart for recycling every two weeks.

If needed, the city will have overflow trash bags available for purchase. Additional trash carts can also be leased for a yearly fee.

In addition, the city received a $240,000 grant from the Recycling Partnership to purchase up to 15,000 recycling carts and provide funding for further education and outreach.

“The Recycling Partnership, with support from the American Beverage’s Every Bottle Back initiative, is excited to work with the city of Methuen to improve the community’s recycling program,” said Haley Gabbard, community program manager at The Recycling Partnership. “The additional space will allow residents to recycle more which supports local jobs and captures more valuable recyclables needed to make new products and packaging.”