Town Officials: Make Sure Black Barrels are Close to the Curb

The town-issued trash barrels need to be close enough to the street so that the trash truck can pick it up, town officials in Hamilton and Wenham are reminding residents.

“I can’t emphasize enough that your needs to be in proximity to the curb so that the arm can grab it and tip the trash," Hamilton Town Manager Michael Lombardo recently told Selectmen. “If it is up in your driveway we would not be able to pick it up.”

Black barrels are picked up each week in Wenham and every other week in Hamilton. This week, black barrels are being picked up in Hamilton - Wednesday through Friday.

Last week, Wenham officials issued a reminder that the bins needs to be close to the street and away from other bins and other items.

"In order for the new trucks to pickup the trash barrels they must be placed two feet from the curb (or street) and three feet away from any other barrels or bins," the .

Each barrels is labeled, telling you which side goes toward the street. The plastic handle on the top should be closest to your home and the metal bar half-way down the barrel shoudl face the street.

Lombardo said that if the black barrel is up the driveway it will not be able to picked up.

"You're likely to not get it picked up if it is not pushed to the curb," he said.