There’s something foul brewing in Medford.
Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn has been piling up accolades for her environmental initiatives, but her latest move—cutting trash pickup to just once every two weeks—has some local officials and residents in this Boston suburb far from impressed.
Massachusetts Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn has sparked outrage among residents by slashing garbage pickup to just twice a month. Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn / Instagram
Last July, Lungo-Koehn received national recognition from the National Recycling Coalition for Medford’s weekly curbside composting program. Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn / Instagram
The new plan—halving the pickup frequency for residents’ 64-gallon trash bins—was rolled out alongside the announcement that Medford had secured a $200,000 'Pay As You Throw' grant from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
"We made a commitment to Zero Waste in that plan and are making it easier for Medford residents and businesses to reduce, reuse, and recycle materials to restore or renew value, eliminate waste, and decrease pollution," Democrat Lungo-Koehn said in a press release celebrating the announcement.
“It’s the right move for our residents and businesses, it’s the right move for the environment, and it’s the right move for our City’s future.”
Last July, Lungo-Koehn was recognized by the National Recycling Coalition for Medford’s weekly curbside composting program, earning the title of 'Outstanding Elected Leader'—an initiative that went on to receive another award just last month from the Northeast Recycling Council.
But social media users erupted in outrage over the plan, warning it could make the city’s already notorious rodent problem even worse.
"So more rats will be coming. It’s awful there are so so many rats in our neighborhood," one resident complained on a Medford community Facebook page.
“The exterminators’ business will increase with rubbish removal every other week. The rats are taking over our neighborhoods,” said another.
Others worried about the stench of old trash lingering twice as long as before.
Residents on social media are furious over the plan, warning it could worsen the city’s notorious rodent problem. Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn / Instagram
"Nobody wants to smell two weeks of garbage, particularly in the summer," a concerned resident said.
Medford City Council President Zac Bears also slammed the plan at last week’s council meeting, noting that the change to the trash pickup schedule was buried at the bottom of the press release.
“We’re not seeing any of the benchmarks that would lead us to believe that this is a good change,” he said, according to the Boston Herald, noting that “the fact this was not the lead of the press release” has “rubbed a lot of people the wrong way,” he continued.
“I think it’s set up this program for failure because I think there’s no trust in it.”
Sure enough, the big reveal comes after dozens of paragraphs praising the change as a boon for the community.
“As of July 1, 2027, residential 64-gallon trash carts will be collected every other week along with recycling at no charge. The new baseline for trash service will equate to 32-gallons per household per week, which meets MassDEP’s service volume threshold for a PAYT program and makes Medford eligible for the PAYT grant.”
Lungo-Koehn did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Faqinsurances.
