Transfer Station Woes

For the record I would like to first state that I am extremely appreciative of our in-town transfer station and the great people who work for Marblehead’s Board of Health.  The fact that residents have access to a full-service trash, recycling, metal disposal, yard waste, etc. facility is an enormous benefit; and as a small business owner, I am even more grateful.  So much so I was first in line to purchase a commercial sticker and I gladly paid the full fee for the business permit when introduced a few months ago.

Apparently my expectations surrounding the normal equation of increased fees equals increased level of service were overly optimistic to say the least.  The past few weeks have been extremely frustrating given the number of times various areas have been unavailable or closed for all sorts of reasons. This past week-end both the large cardboard and heavy plastic trailers were both pulled aside and not available.  And a few days before that, the metal bin was also not available.  Now today the large commercial weighed trash pit is having mechanical problems and won’t be available for an estimated 5 plus days. 

Setting aside the mechanical issues as those cannot be predicted, I’m curious to learn if there is a way to avoid closing the other areas as frequently as they are.  Should there be more empty containers available?  Could there be updates to the pick-up schedule for the full trailers?  I’m curious to learn if there are any possible solutions out there that could be attempted.

Another thought to potentially avoid prolonged closures of areas of the transfer station would be to propose if the transfer station is operating at less than 100% capacity, the staffing should be adjusted to meet the level of service being provided.  I would venture a guess that if one or two of the highest salaried employees were sent home without pay until the problems are remediated, the issues would be resolved in short order.

Again, I’m thrilled the transfer station is here in town, I would just appreciate it a bit more if I felt I was receiving the level of service for which I believe I’m paying.

Karl Smith

Orne Street