Beverly City Councilors on Tuesday pressed Mayor Mike Cahill for details about the city’s response to a labor stoppage at Republic Services that has disrupted curbside trash and recycling collection across the region, and they voted 6-0 to enter an executive session to discuss pending litigation against a Republic affiliate.

Mayor Mike Cahill said city staff have been working “full time” to mitigate impacts and thanked residents and municipal departments for their response. “This has not any part of it been easy. And people have been incredibly supportive,” Cahill said, describing targeted pickups by city crews, two municipally run recycling drop-off days, and ongoing pressure on Republic to restore service.

Councilors framed the discussion around several practical concerns: why Republic has resumed curbside recycling in some neighboring communities but not Beverly; how to expand recycling access for residents who cannot transport materials to drop-off sites; public-health risks tied to overflowing commercial dumpsters; options for short-term alternative haulers; and contract provisions for future service procurement.

The mayor told councilors the city has been meeting daily with the 14 communities affected by the strike and that Republic initially promised to redeploy resources from other regions but had not met those commitments. Cahill described an early phase in which Republic brought in a small number of out-of-state drivers and trucks that struggled to learn local routes; by the second week Republic had increased to about five trucks serving the city but had not resumed consistent curbside recycling pickup.

City crews and police have been staffing two municipal recycling drop-off events to accept paper and cardboard and to avoid public-health problems from wet, moldy recycling left at curbs. Cahill said the city has secured multiple 30-yard dumpsters for the events and, when necessary, used a 15-yard packer truck with compaction capability to handle overflow. He noted the city has been incurring out-of-pocket costs to stage the drop-offs and said those costs will be deducted from the next payment to Republic.

Cahill also said the city pursued court action and filed affidavits from public-health directors as part of litigation against Republic’s corporate affiliate; he described the filing and a court hearing as one of several levers to press Republic to meet its contractual obligations.

Councilors raised public-health and vermin concerns where commercial dumpsters have been allowed to overflow. Cahill said the health department has inventoried problem locations, engaged a contracted vendor to increase trap placement and that the vendor is using non-poison control methods (the vendor’s method targets rodents without rodenticide). Councilors asked for public messaging discouraging the ad hoc use of rodenticide by residents and for the city to promote curbside and drop-off compost options as a way to reduce food waste.

On alternatives to Republic, the mayor said staff solicited bids or expressions of interest from five to six other haulers; most potential providers cited inability to cross picket lines, lack of available trucks or trained staff, or long lead times to mobilize. Several councilors urged the administration to consider temporary dumpsters in densely populated neighborhoods (for example, Gloucester Crossing and other downtown wards) so residents without vehicles can more easily access recycling options.

Councilors also criticized inconsistent timing of notifications about pickup changes and asked whether the city could provide earlier or multi-day scheduling notices. Cahill said the city’s ability to project pickup schedules is constrained because Republic provides daily operational updates late in the afternoon and because trucks sometimes encounter picketing or delays at transfer facilities and the incinerator in Saugus, creating uncertain route completion times.

After the open discussion the council voted to enter executive session under Chapter 30A, Section 21(a)(3) to discuss litigation in City of Beverly et al. v. 623 Landfill Inc., an indirect subsidiary of Republic Services, et al., case no. 2577cv00758. The council’s roll-call vote recorded six “yes” votes (Crowley, Hausman, Spang, Saint Hilaire, Sweeney and Flowers) and the council announced it would adjourn from executive session and would not return to open session.

The mayor and multiple councilors said they will continue to press Republic daily for fuller service, continue running recycling drop-offs while capacity allows, and pursue alternatives and contract changes in advance of the current hauling contract’s June 2026 expiration.