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Late night and early morning noise caused by waste management companies emptying dumpsters in the city’s central business districts is being scrutinized by city officials.
By Jim Clark
At the latest regular meeting of the City of Somerville Board of Aldermen, an order was put forward requesting that the City Solicitor advise Ward 6 Alderman Lance Davis on whether the city’s noise ordinance can be enforced against waste companies that empty dumpsters overnight and in the early morning.
Alderman Davis told the Board, “This arose out a constituent complaint regarding dumpsters being emptied overnight, and this has come up a number of times over the years.”
Davis explained that his understanding of the legal situation is that state law forbids the city from
Ward 6 Alderman Lance Davis is seeking legal guidance in the matter of noise abatement issues associated with waste removal activity.
prohibiting dumpster emptying in the central business districts. “Of course, in many of our communities – including Davis Square – we have very tight residential neighborhoods right up against that, and some of those dumpsters happen to be in the back end of the central business district and right up to people’s bedroom windows,” said Davis, who the explained that before pushing ahead on the issue it would be prudent to look into the legal aspects of taking action on the matter.
Board President William A. White Jr., pointed out the state law usually supersedes local law, but he suggested that the matter be approved and go before the Public Health and Safety Committee for further study.
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THANK YOU!!! Finally, I know I am not crazy complaining about this. I have mentioned this very issue on the board here before, and someone sarcastically told me I was “living in a city.”
The dumpster at Maxwell’s Green across from where I live and along the bike path extension gets emptied several times a DAY, including as early as between 6:30 – 7:00am, even on weekends. During the summer, it sounds like a bomb is going off because the dumpster is forcefully slammed repeatedly against the truck to empty it.
Can there really be that much garbage there in the course of a single day that a dumpster has to be emptied as much as 3-4 times? I can’t imagine that. I’m sure a lot of people are out during the day, and even those that aren’t wouldn’t produce that much trash every day, especially since the DPW only has trash pickup once a week for each section of the whole city.
I think about people sleeping in on a Saturday or Sunday morning, people during the week trying to get their fussy babies to sleep, people with sensitive pets, elderly and ill people trying to rest, and then having to be startled by something so loud it could wake the dead.
This is NOT what “living in a city” is about. Cities are busy, and yes, often noisy, but not so loud that your life is frequently disrupted. This is simply unacceptable, and I hope that something is able to be done to reduce the number of dumpster pickups and have them come at a more sensible time of day. Once a day in the early- to mid-afternoon would certainly be bearable.
There are folks here complaining about the noise pollution of airplanes and construction, and this is no different. Quality of life in a city is important for everyone, and we can all take a temporary inconvenience, but we should not have to endure something that is a constant headache.
How about street cleaners? Its that time of year and the street cleaner that does Broadway comes by at 2-4 am. sometimes just sits there 20+ minutes waiting for who knows what, with the engine running. You can’t sleep with your windows open in the summer because of the noise they make.