Yard Waste Collection Now and Then

12/08/2015
By: Andrey Masleyev

Do not get me wrong. Waste collection in Marlborough is OK. It is actually much better than in many neghbour towns. But... it is just used to be MUCH better one mayor ago few years ago. Especially yard waste collection. Now we have only two small "windows of opportunity" in April and November when Department of Public Works would pick up our yard waste. Leaves and debris lay on the ground for almost half a year and make out city less beautiful. But there is something worse. It is pretty often when Department of Public Works "forgets" to pick up yard waste. They usually just do not want to go onto small streets! This is especially bad because of these very small "windows of opportunity". Please read my story below.

Do you know about service? This is a very convenient smartphone app. You should install it on your phone if you do not have it already! It helps residents to communicate with Department of Public Works and other city services. This is a really great app, but it took a lot of efforts to resolve our small problem. Our yard waste was not collected (as it supposed to be) on 11/09 and I submitted a ticket:

Good? Not so fast... The bags were not picked up yet!

Good? Not so fast...

Remember, it was already one week passed. And this was the next scheduled pick up date but... still no luck:

This story has a happy ending. Our leaves were finally collected a few days later and the ticket was closed on 11/20/2015 with apologies. And actually, this would not be a big problem if we had a bigger "window of opportunity" for yard waste collection as it was one mayor ago few years ago.