‘Recycling is piling up': Residents, officials frustrated as trash strike enters fourth week

Boston Globe

24-07-2025

The Teamsters union's strike against Republic Services — now entering its fourth week — has meant hassles for residents in the 14 Massachusetts municipalities where service has been disrupted. In Malden, residents say they haven't had their recycling picked up since June.
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For Monte and her family, the strike has provided a double-whammy. They have second home in Gloucester, another community affected the labor dispute. They've had to ferry their recyclables back to Malden because drop-off sites in Gloucester aren't open during their weekend visits.
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'It's been inconvenient,' said Monte, 'but I understand that things like this happen, so we just have to go with the flow.'
When it all might end remains uncertain. Tensions between Republic and the Teamsters appear as high as ever even as public officials, including
The two sides remain far apart on wages and benefits, and haven't met since July 18. No additional negotiation sessions have been scheduled, according to a Republic spokesperson.
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Malden and five other affected towns have asked a judge to intervene with an emergency order requiring Republic to immediately resume all waste collection as required by its contracts obligations. Mayor Michelle Wu announced Wednesday the
At the Ferryway School, Jenny Tan, 43, dropped off several brown paper bags filled with her own recyclables and then left to do the same for her parents, who do not have a car.
'Her recycling is actually piling up, and she doesn't have any more recycling space,' she said of her mother.
Weihua Liu, 57, said he spent almost two hours on Saturday waiting in line to drop off yard waste, which isn't getting picked up either.
Overflowing recycling bins sat on the curb of Pearl Street in Malden.
Ben Pennington/for The Boston Globe
Republic's trash pickup in Malden stopped for about a week when workers walked off the job July 1. Replacement workers resumed collection after the Fourth of July weekend and have continued since, with some delays. Residents can also drop off their trash during designated times at Malden's DPW yard on Commercial Street.
Donna Smith, 70, said she brought her trash
to the drop off point Tuesday evening because she did not want Republic's replacement workers picking it up. Smith, who belonged to a union when she worked as a spray painter for the MBTA, said she hopes Republic will 'share the wealth' with the union workers, who 'do the bulk of the work for everyone.'
'I hate the inconvenience,' she said, 'but I'm in their corner.'
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Some residents said minimizing waste and taking advantage of the city's drop-off sites have kept burdens to a minimum.
Dropping off all his recyclables for the month, Palani Nadarajah, 69, said the strike has not posed an issue at all.
'If you reduce the trash that you are creating, it's easier,' he said. 'What the city is doing is fantastic, no issues.'
As the strike drags on, it's straining the Malden Public Works Department, director Bob Knox said. Workers who otherwise might be cutting grass, pouring concrete sidewalks, or providing other services are instead handling the waste drop-off sites.
For Knox, who has worked at the Malden Public Works Department for 32 years, the challenges posed by the Republic strike ranks up there with the 'snowmageddon'
snowstorms of 2015 and the COVID-19 pandemic.
'If I was writing a book,' he said. 'This would definitely have its own chapter.'
Stella Tannenbaum can be reached at