Boston council panel examines same-day trash pickup rules to combat rodent crisis

BOSTON — October 2, 2025 — Boston City Council panel hears push for same-day trash rules and commercial containerization to fight rats. The Committee on City Services and Innovation Technology, chaired by Councilor Enrique J. Pepén, held a hearing Thursday on Docket 1448, sponsored by Councilor Sharon Durkan, Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, and Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, exploring whether Boston can require residents in dense neighborhoods to put out trash only on the morning of pickup rather than the night before. Dennis Roach, Superintendent of Waste Reduction for Boston Public Works, told councilors the city spends roughly $45 million annually on trash collection and $30 million to $40 million on disposal, and that contracts with Capital Waste run through June 30, 2027, with a new downtown contract set to be bid out in January 2026. Roach confirmed that Massachusetts state law already mandates containerization but that Boston has not enforced it for decades, citing the physical impossibility of truck access in narrow streets like those in Beacon Hill and the North End, and noted that the city's code enforcement unit numbers just 17 officers across three shifts citywide. Councilor Edward M. Flynn renewed his call for a standalone Office of Pest Control, citing a Tufts University study released in April linking Boston rats to a disease capable of causing multiple organ failure. The administration announced a follow-up public meeting open to all residents on October 16.