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Councilors, legislators work to shut down overnight trash hauling

The City Council holds a hearing today to consider a proposal by councilors Felix Arroyo and Michael Ross for a law to let the city regulate the hours of commercial trash haulers. The session starts at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall.

Currently, companies that pick up trash from businesses can operate whenever they feel like it, which the councilors say is unfair to residents of neighborhoods where residences sit right on top of businesses, such as the North End and the South End.

The proposal would require an act of the legislature; state Reps. Aaron Michlewitz of the North End and Marty Walz of the Back Bay have signed on.

Neighborhoods: 


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Comments

I'd rather deal with the noise, which I can easily get used to while living in the city. The rats, now those are harder to be ok with.

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Excellent points. If they can control the times - when exactly will they allow trash pickup? If a restaurant puts it's trash out at midnight or 1am, how long do you want it sitting there until its picked up?

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John - the times I have generally heard are 8 am to midnight on weekends and 7 am to 11 pm on weekdays. The restaurant behind me has almost no rodent problems now - simple solution - the switched to the totes like the residents use and the rats can't get in them because they close properly. I don't care what times you pick up the trash - if you use the typical dumpster the rats will get in them. I usually see them quite active between 9 pm and midnight - so if you come at 3 am or 4 am they are already fed and bedded down for the night and all you accomplish is waking up the neigbors.

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Especially near the Custom House. Around 3:00am on Saturday and Sunday morning you'll see plenty of rats. They're usually enjoying trash from food vendors. If there's food, they will come.

My building has covered trash receptacles. The rats chewed a giant hole through the top of it.

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I'm sure you can see rats at any time of the night. But picking up the trash at 3 am or 9 am won't fix this problem. The receptacles I've seen make it almost impossible for the rats to chew apart. With the exception of a very small lip there are no sharp edges to for them to grab onto (although there is evidence that they've tried-my guess is that it's too much work and they move on to dumpsters with easier pickings). Rodents are definitely an issue, but they'll be an issue no matter what time you pick up. The other issue is traffic and I can't speak for other parts of the city, but thanks to the alleys in the Back Bay, this is not a big concern at least in our part of the city - hat tip to good urban design.

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This is a great idea. If you could magically have all commercial trash picked up at say 7am, that would be perfect. Unfortunately, there are way too many businesses that use this service and all these pickups take hours to complete....and at 7am there is way more foot/vehicle traffic on the streets making pickups more difficult. What will these residents think when they go to pull their car out of their parking spot and there's a garbage truck blocking their alley/street? It's a fact of life of living in the city...there is going to be noise, there are going to be crowds, etc. You can't legislate everything away.

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This is good. The city should have the right to regulate this, currently the city has no power under state law. More home rule!

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....because obviously the Mayor of Boston does not have enough power.

Any more home rule in this town and you'd wake up lying next to the Mayuh... AHH!

Although in this case, I would say that the city should have a say in this. And once they move it to some other time the same people will complain about the traffic caused by trash trucks being present when they're trying to get around. I'm in favor of more activity occurring at night -- like all large truck deliveries. Do a NYC and have city businesses stocking and whatever at night so there are less trucks on the roads during the day (specifically during the rush hours). Would probably require that we have the T ran at night....

oh jeezis nevermind.

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Why is this City of Boston matter even an issue for the state legislature in the first place?

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Maybe because the state legislature [ legislature n. An officially elected or otherwise selected body of people vested with the responsibility and power to make laws for a political unit, such as a state or nation.] is the body given responsiblity for that stuff? If Boston wants to regulate businesses in a special way, then Boston needs an exemption from state laws. If the city wanted to raise its own income tax, it would have to do the same thing.

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Candidates for Tuesday 6 March 2012 Election.
Ward 3 Precinct 8 City of Boston.
Democratic Ballot.
Republican Ballot.
Green-Rainbow Ballot.

DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
Presidential Preference:
BARACK OBAMA

State Committee Man, First Suffolk and Middlesex District:
VALENTINO CAPOBIANCO, 53 Prospect Ave., Winthrop
WINTHROP C. ROOSEVELT, 2 Louisburg Sq., Boston

State Committee Woman, First Suffolk and Middlesex District:
DENISE V. LOCONTE, 66 Centre St., Winthrop, Candidate for Re-election

Ward Committee, Vote for not more than 35:
JASON A. ALUIA 126 Prince St.
DANIEL J. TOSCANO 78 Prince St.
MATTHEW MICHAEL BAMONTE 95 North Margin St.
DINO J. DiFRONZO 78 Prince St.
IDA DiPASQUALE 35 Sheafe St.
NICOLE LEO 357 Commercial St.
MARY ANN D'AMATO 13 Noyes Pl.
WILLIAM G. FERULLO 4 Charter St.
JAMES R. GANNON 74 Commercial St.
MARY C. ANIA 356 Hanover St.
PROVIDENZA DiGIROLAMO 1 Michelangelo St.
TINA ABATE 357 Commercial St.
BLAKE K. WEBBER 165 Endicott St.
FRANCINE M. GANNON 74 Commercial St.
GERALD J. MORETTI 211 Endicott St.
JANINE L. COPPOLA 172 Endicott St.
MICHAEL JAMES GESUALDI 28 Fleet St.
CARL J. SALVI, JR. 137 Endicott St.
MICHELE A. TIRELLA 95 North Margin St.
STEPHEN M. PASSACANTILLI 406 Hanover St.
ANNA CLARE KELLY 10 Unity St.
JEREMY P. SARZANA 40 Cooper St.
ELEANOR SYDNEY ASBURY 158 Commercial St.
JAMES F. BRINNING, III 48 Waltham St.
KATHERINE M. MCISAAC-CARANGELO 382 North St.
MICHAEL EDWARD FALCONE 72 Waltham St.
REBECCA K. KAISER 13 Upton St.
KATHRYN R. BURTON 287 Hanover St.
CHRISTOPHER G. BETKE 116 Lincoln St.
TRACY COOGAN PLANTS 101 Canal St.
TODD EDWARD PLANTS 101 Canal St.
STEVEN SICILIANO 357 Commercial St.
AMERICO A. BEVILACQUA 17 Margaret St.

REPUBLICAN PRIMARY
Presidential Preference:
RON PAUL
MITT ROMNEY
RICK PERRY
RICK SANTORUM
JON HUNTSMAN
MICHELE BACHMANN
NEWT GINGRICH

State Committee Man, First Suffolk and Middlesex District:
PAUL J. RONUKAITUS, 17 Center St., Winthrop, Candidate for Re-election
BRAD MARSTON, 90 Beacon St., Boston

Ward Committee, Vote for not more than 35:
KAITLYN E. GREELEY 52 Hull St.
BRANDY L. SMITH 374 North St.
FRANK JOHN ADDIVINOLA, JR. 1 Longfellow Pl.
MARTHA B. CHADWICK 1 Avery St.
JAMES T. CHADWICK 1 Avery St.

GREEN- RAINBOW PRIMARY
Presidential Preference:
KENT MESPLAY
JILL STEIN
HARLEY MIKKLESON

State Committee Man, First Suffolk and Middlesex District
NO NOMINATIONS
State Committee Woman, First Suffolk and Middlesex District
NO NOMINATIONS
Ward Committee, Vote for not more than 10
NO NOMINATIONS

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