As litter continues to cover streets and sidewalks around Worcester, city officials are planning a new response: adding up to 200 combined trash and recycling bins across different neighborhoods. Right now, there are about 50 public bins across the city — and they’re mostly concentrated around downtown.
Officials recently used an interactive map to survey residents on where they’d want the new bins. They’re going through hundreds of responses to finalize locations. There’s a good chance that areas like Bell Hill and Vernon Hill can receive some bins.
“Looking at the crowdsource map, you can tell the community sees the need for [the bins],” said Miranda Hotham, Worcester’s zero waste coordinator. “I’ve also experienced the lack of trash cans. I’ve parked on the street before I finished my iced coffee and had nowhere to put it.”
Hotham said the city is accounting for other factors, too: for example, areas with higher foot traffic and bus stops.
The initiative comes in response to residents’ calls for more bins on sidewalks. It’s Worcester’s latest attempt to address a longstanding problem .
Worcester doesn’t give residents garbage bins. Instead, the city has a pay-as-you-throw trash program and charges people for every yellow trash bag they throw away. If people don’t use the yellow bags, garbage collection workers won’t pick up their trash.
But many residents have complained that the bags tear easily, letting garbage spill out as they sit on the curb ahead of pickup. Critics add they’re hard to find and too expensive — and, as a result, people illegally dump their trash in alleys or vacant lots.
City officials say the new trash bins aren’t meant to be another way people can dispose of their household garbage. In fact, the new bins will be designed to mainly be for individual pieces of trash.
“If you’re waiting at a bus stop, for example, or just walking down the street and you have a coffee cup in your hand, you can put it in the trash as opposed to using them for your regular household waste,” Worcester’s Chief Sustainability Officer John Odell said.
Odell and Hotham added the city is taking other steps to address the litter problem. Officials are developing a zero waste master plan to minimize illegal dumping and expand recycling. And they want to spotlight residents who walk around communities picking up litter and partner with them to lead neighborhood cleanups.
There’s also a new online guide that tells people how they can dispose of different types of waste. Hotham said the city plans to partner with community organizations to distribute the guide in different languages and ensure it’s accessible to residents who may not have internet access.
“There’s a lot of litter on the streets, but this is when it really comes down to the people that live here and our community members,” Hotham said. “If you want litter off the streets, you gotta put [it] in the trash can.”
