Public Works proposes advanced scheduling for bulk collection to curb illegal dumping and cut costs

Gerard Roberts, a Public Works presenter, told Portsmouth City Council on Dec. 9 that the city’s current street-by-street bulk-collection approach is inefficient and contributes to illegal dumping costs. Roberts said crews run seven dedicated bulk trucks across district routes with roughly 40 stops a 10-hour day, and that drivers spend much of their shift driving to identify bulky items rather than collecting pre-scheduled loads.

Roberts estimated the program handled about 5,199 tons of material last year and said roughly 30% of that tonnage resulted from illegal dumping. He outlined line-item costs for the operation: an estimated disposal delta of about $52 per ton (for material taken to regional facilities rather than the city-owned Craney Island disposal), yielding roughly $360,000 in disposal costs; labor for seven drivers at about $52,000 each (~$364,000); fuel and higher maintenance costs on older trucks; and administrative overhead. “Illegal dumping is rampant throughout the city,” Roberts said, adding that contractor and renovation waste often appears in curbside piles or vacant lots.

To address the problem, Public Works recommended transition to an advanced scheduling system that would require residents (or contractors) to request pickup by phone or online, enabling route optimization and more predictable loads. Roberts said advanced scheduling aligns Portsmouth with neighboring cities (except Suffolk, which reverted to a different model) and would allow the city to dispatch trucks optimized for certain materials (appliances, furniture, construction debris), reduce idling and re-runs, and better match disposal destinations. Other proposed changes include strengthening penalties, authorizing inspectors to issue civil citations and a limited administrative fee (e.g., $25) for unscheduled same-day pickups; reducing allowable cubic-yard volumes for curbside collections (staff suggested moving from an 8x10x8 allowance to a 6x6x6 limit); and a public-education campaign ahead of implementation.

Council members broadly supported the goals but raised practical questions: how to treat neighbor-stacked pickups (residents who collect others’ bulk items in one place), whether code enforcement has the manpower to issue citations, how to communicate changes and ensure equity, and requests for an estimate of expected cost savings from the change. Roberts said staff will draft ordinance language, run public education for a transition (suggesting at least one fiscal year of messaging), and provide more detailed cost-savings estimates when returning with an implementation plan.

What happens next: Public Works will draft ordinance language and a public-education timeline, provide projected savings and rules for neighbor-stacked pickups, and return to council for formal adoption and an implementation date.