Boston City Council Grills Administration Over Trash Contract Renewal and Enforcement Gaps

BOSTON — April 2, 2024 — Boston City Council weighs overhaul of trash collection contracts and enforcement as costs rise. The Committee on City Services and Innovation Technology, chaired by Councilor Enrique J. Pepén, heard Tuesday from Chief of Streets Yasha Franklin-Hodge, who confirmed the city's contract with Capital Waste Services expires at the end of fiscal year 2024 and that a renewal — expected to maintain existing service levels — will carry a "substantial" cost increase driven by rising labor and equipment costs. Combined annual spending on collection, disposal, recycling, and composting already exceeds $100 million, with collection alone at roughly $30 million and disposal at about $40 million. Council President Ruthzee Louijeune and Councilor Sharon Durkan pressed officials on whether buildings with seven or more units — the city's current definition of a large building — should be required to arrange private trash hauling, as most neighboring municipalities already require. Code enforcement director John Blackmore acknowledged that municipal liens have not been placed on chronic violator properties since 2016 because two city data systems cannot reconcile ownership records in real time, leaving one property management company cited in the hearing sitting on $240,000 in unpaid fines with no meaningful consequence.