Bedford council hears Republic Services explain December trash delays, vows improved communication

Republic Services representatives told the Bedford City Council on Jan. 14 that unusually high residential volumes, wet landfill conditions and staff turnover combined to cause multiweek delays in curbside trash collection in December.

The city invited Jerry Harwell of Republic Services to explain the company’s response after residents reported missed pickups. “In December…this year, it went up 470 tons,” Harwell said, describing the rise from November. She told council that an extra 470 tons equates to roughly 40 additional landfill hauls, given an 8- to 10-ton load per truck.

That spike was not solely holiday waste, Harwell said. A warm fall kept leaves on trees longer so they dropped in a short period and residents bagged them for curbside pickup. “There’s a lot of bagged leaves out there,” she said, and noted Republic’s preference that residents mulch leaves rather than send them to a landfill in plastic bags. Wet weather also slowed landfill processing and increased turnaround time, Harwell said, and several new drivers and routine holiday paid time off reduced available staff.

City Manager Andrea Roy and council members pressed Republic on communications and on recurring missed pickups in some neighborhoods. Roy said residents had been waiting up to three weeks for collection in some cases and urged Republic to notify the city earlier when routes were in trouble so staff could inform the public. “We need to work on our communication and get the message out sooner,” Roy said.

Harwell described steps the company has taken: deploying four additional drivers from another location during the December surge, keeping an extra “floater” route available for sudden volume increases, monitoring routes by midafternoon to identify trouble and reassigning assets, and reviewing route design to shorten oversized routes. She said the company had raised its local driver cap and was hiring — “we’ve actually increased our cap at staffing…from 62 to 66” — to improve resiliency.

Council members suggested operational changes and public education. Councilmember Farco asked whether residents could reduce tonnage by changing yard‑waste practices; Harwell urged mulching over bagging. Councilmember Duncan pressed for review of route assignments, especially on the south side where residents reported repeated misses. Several members asked the city and Republic to coordinate pre-storm contingency plans and to use early, even provisional, messages to residents when crews see a likely multi‑day delay.

Harwell said Republic had suspended a Thursday route during the snow event so the city could be caught up sooner and that all Bedford routes were caught up the week of the meeting. “This week, we’re back to normal service,” she said. She apologized for the December disruption and said the company takes responsibility for its contract obligations.

City staff and Republic agreed to continue working on: route redesign where appropriate, earlier SOS (mutual‑aid) requests for drivers, a clearer notification protocol to the city at the 3 p.m. check‑in when routes are running behind, and regular updates to Bedford staff so the city can push timely notices to residents. The council did not take formal action on the presentation; Harwell was invited back for follow‑up as staff and Republic implement the changes.

Ending: Council members thanked Harwell and Republic’s operations manager, Travis Benson, for attending. City staff said they will track missed‑pickup reports and report back to council on progress at a future meeting.