Blackstone board approves curbside contract after Republic Services briefing on carts, electrification and service complaints

The Town of Blackstone Board of Health voted to approve a curbside collection contract with Republic Services after a company presentation on automation, electrification and plastic recycling and a detailed exchange about recent service gaps and backup-truck availability.

Republic Services representative Eric Heiderman described market and operational drivers behind recent price and service changes, including commodity values, steel, fuel and labor costs and the nationwide shortage of CDL-qualified drivers. "Automation really is... the future," Heiderman said, describing companies' move to automated side-load trucks and the need to distribute carts to households as a major hurdle.

Heiderman outlined several implementation details the board discussed: the company will not order carts until a signed contract is in place; once ordered, carts take about six to eight weeks for delivery and an additional one to two weeks for local assembly and household distribution. He said an individual cart can cost roughly $120 per household through statewide contracts and noted grant and incentive opportunities for recycling carts: "There's a nonprofit called the Recycling Partnership, Inc. ... Municipalities can get $16 for each household towards the purchase of a recycling cart," Heiderman said.

Board members and meeting participants pressed Republic on service reliability after several recent missed or delayed collections. An attendee summarized resident frustration: "It's the running joke of the town. Like, it's trash gonna be on time," the attendee said. Board members said they expected designated backup equipment to be available when a primary truck fails; Heiderman acknowledged the concern and said he would investigate the specific incident and follow up with the town and with Republic's operations supervisor, Kelly.

Heiderman reviewed technical and program details the company presented: the current trucks assigned to the town are reported as 2019 and 2020 MAC models; Republic has designed an electric collection truck with a stated range of about 70 to 100 miles and an internal target that 50% of new truck purchases be electric by 2028. He also described polymer-recycling centers Republic operates or plans to open and said those centers can improve plastic circularity by processing and reusing post-consumer plastics.

Several operational decisions and next steps were recorded during the discussion. Republic offered to provide outreach materials (mailers, flyers and other sample communications) and to participate in local demonstrations; the company also asked the town to prepare and "massage" an address list (assessor report) to remove vacant and nonresidential parcels before cart distribution. Heiderman told the board he would insert himself into Republic's operations communications loop to improve notifications to the town when collections will be delayed.

The board approved the curbside collection contract by voice vote after a motion to approve. The meeting record shows additional routine actions: the board approved mobile food and septic permits and authorized payment of identified invoices, each by motion and voice vote. No dollar totals for the contract, permits or invoices were specified in the public discussion.

Next steps noted at the meeting: the company will send sample educational materials and follow up on the performance incident; the town and Republic will finalize the property list for cart delivery; and the exact implementation date for automated collections will be set after the contract is signed and cart lead times are confirmed.