Neighborhoods around the South End are struggling to deal with a surge in dumpster divers leaving trash scattered around the streets. With the exact cause of the problem still obscured and public policy solutions years away, neighborhood associations have been forced to get creative to try to solve the problem.
Occasional smaller issues with trash being scattered around is an issue throughout Boston, but Steve Fox, head of the South End Forum civic group, said his area’s problems spiked when the city shifted garbage and trash pickup start times to 6am from 7am.
“That encourages more and more people to put their trash out overnight. The longer trash is on the street the longer it is subject to rifling or even weather conditions,” he said. “The hour ought to be rolled back. But that’s probably not going to happen until there’s a new contract negotiation in two to five years.”
Fox also put some responsibility on residents, many of whom don’t have multiple bins and use uniform bags instead. He said people looking for returnable bottles wouldn’t rip open trash bags if recycling was consistently placed in clear plastic recycling bags.
“If folks actually were vigilant in sorting their garbage, we would be able to significantly reduce the amount of trash scavenging that results in debris fields,” he said. “Some South End neighbors are smart; they have a bag for returnables. But other folks will not comply with recycling.
Neighborhood associations and other groups outside of the South End, such as the Alliance of Downtown Civic Organizations and the Beacon Hill Civic Association, said that trash spreading wasn’t a severe problem in their areas. Many have the same trash pickup time as the South End Forum’s neighborhoods.
“Bay Village, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, North End and Chinatown all report no complaints,” said Ford Cavallari, ADCO’s chairman. “This problem appears to be localized.”
Both Fox and Joan Carragher, president of the St. Botolph Neighborhood Association, suggested that a lack of mental health care for the homeless could be making the issue worse, particularly citing homelessness, drug abuse and illness around Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard.
“It would make sense that it would be the result of the situation with Mass and Cass that just keeps spiraling,” she said. “Most likely it’s related to that, but I can’t say for sure why the problems are localized around the South End.”
Police Sergeant Paul DeLeo said foraging through garbage bags is legal and residents are still responsible for their garbage until pickup. However, if it’s clear that trash was scattered without the owner’s knowledge they are not subject to fines.
“Any trash put out for collection is considered abandoned property, meaning anyone can pick through your trash. However, you as the occupant are responsible for that trash until it's collected,” DeLeo said. “I know the law and regulation seems counterintuitive. [Recent scatterings] appeared to be well beyond the occupants’ control; I'm told no fines were issued.”
Neighborhood associations in the South End aren’t looking to stop the homeless from finding necessities or recyclable bottles. Instead, a pilot program for the South End focuses on using collapsible, openable containers that allow for neater foraging.
“People could scavenge, but it would stay contained,” Fox said. “We want to test that more now that the pandemic is coming to a close. One of the initial program’s participants said, ‘I don’t care whether you’re continuing this program or not, I’m keeping my container. It’s worked well for me.’”
