Malden pauses curbside recycling, adds rotating drop-off truck as trash service continues

Malden City officials on Tuesday said trash collection has largely continued during a labor strike but the city has paused curbside recycling because it lacks the consistent truck capacity to finish recycling routes. City staff described a stopgap plan that begins with a rotating single-truck drop-off tomorrow, expanded targeted alerts and continued use of a primary drop-off site on Middlesex Street.

The pause came after the city lost routine truck availability and determined that continuing partial curbside pickup left residents with recyclables sitting at the curb for weeks. Ron Hogan, the city’s chief strategy officer, told the Finance Committee the administration and its contractor agreed a pause was preferable to inconsistent collection that would leave material exposed and frustrating for residents. Staff said the recycling pause will be lifted when the city and contractor can guarantee sufficient trucks to complete routes.

W…