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.

Why it matters: continuing to collect trash while pausing recycling changes residents’ disposal options and risks increased illegal dumping and rodent pressure in neighborhoods. Officials said they are trying to limit that risk by expanding drop-off options, targeted messaging and a daily operations focus with DPW crews.

Details and operational steps - Trash: City staff said three trucks are generally maintaining curbside trash pickup; Wednesdays are the heaviest day. Drivers’ hour limits and dump-line wait times mean crews cannot reliably add recycling work without compromising trash service. - Recycling pause: Staff said curbside recycling was resumed briefly but inconsistent truck availability forced a decision to pause again. The administration cited days when the contractor could field only four trucks and the need for five-plus trucks to sustain routine curbside recycling. - Drop-off sites: The city continues to operate two staffed drop-off locations (including the Middlesex Street site). Staff reported more than 20 full dumpsters brought by residents to the staffed drop-offs over a recent three-day span, which officials said reflects strong resident engagement. Because dumpsters are in limited supply, the city is focusing on a smaller number of high-capacity, managed sites rather than many smaller sites. - Rotating truck: Starting tomorrow the city will deploy one truck and two helpers as a mobile drop-off in the Linden School area for an eight-hour period or until the truck is full, then rotate to other neighborhoods. Staff said a single truck can hold roughly the equivalent of six dumpsters when loaded and that the rotating truck is intended to reduce travel burdens for residents without cars. - Communication: Staff emphasized daily, targeted alerts (city “trash alert” signups) and citywide CodeRED messages to reach residents. The administration also said it uses website translation tools and Malden’s language-access resources to send messages in residents’ preferred languages.

Direction vs. decision: The committee was briefed on staff direction to pause curbside recycling, to begin the rotating drop-off schedule, and to continue daily targeted alerts. No formal legislative action or vote was taken at the meeting.

What the city asked residents to do: staff encouraged use of the staffed drop-off sites and sign-up for address-specific collection alerts at cityofmalden.org/connect. The committee also promoted an existing voluntary curbside compost subscription as a way for households to reduce trash tonnage.

Ending note: City leaders told the committee they will reopen curbside recycling as soon as contractor capacity and route logistics allow. In the meantime the rotating truck and targeted outreach are intended to reduce curbside accumulation and the related enforcement burdens.