Starting Oct. 1, home owners and tenants who continually disregard Methuen’s trash and recycling rules will potentially face fines and suspension of curbside pickup.

While Methuen has made significant progress since starting the cart system in October 2022, some residents refuse to follow the program – such as continually overloading their trash barrel or putting an air-conditioner unit in their recycling bin – and that costs taxpayers money via tonnage and “tipping fees.”

“We don’t want to fine people,” said Methuen’s Environmental Planner/Energy Manager Joseph Cosgrove. “It’s for those habitual offenders, those flagrant violators who fill the blue (recycling) cart with trash.”

During a Sept. 16 presentation to City Council on the trash program, Mayor Neil Perry shared statistics on progress made.

From 2022 to 2024, the down-then-slightly-up trash tonnage saved the city almost $157,000, he said. Increased recycling (up 21% with carts) cost the city more than $259,000 because “we weren’t doing much recycling before,” he said.

But he added, “We do have some spots in the city where recycling is just being ignored. People are using recycling bins to throw trash, plastic (grocery store) bags. … those bags are not recyclable, no matter what anyone tells you.”

Despite public discussions and workshops, city-sponsored literature and even summer interns providing trash/recycling education to neighbors, discrepancies continue. City Council OK’d the ordinance targeting violators in July.

Penalties are as follows:

*First violation: warning sticker placed on violator’s trash and/or recyclable container by the city collector and a written warning shall also be sent to the property owner.

*Second violation: $50 fine per violation.

*Third violation: $100 fine per violation.

*Fourth violation: $300 per violation.

DPW “may also suspend curbside collection for any property that has received four or more violation notices,” per the ordinance. “The city shall provide the occupant and property owner with a written notice of the proposed suspension of curbside collection at the property at the owner’s last known address on record with the city’s Assessors office.”

Owner and occupant will have an opportunity “for a hearing before the designated city hearing officer.” If no hearing is requested within 10 days after the date of the suspension notice, or after a hearing, then all curbside collection at the address shall be suspended.

“Very few are trying to use their recycle carts for trash, maybe one out of 100,” Cosgrove said. “Most are trying to do the right thing.”

The No. 1 problem is people “bagging” their recyclables in a thin grocery-type bag, then putting the entire bag in the recycling bin.

“At the material-recover facility in Billerica, (recycling) gets sorted. There are optic scans and (workers) pulling out trash. Plastic bags and wraps are a problem,” Cosgrove explained. “They’re hard to sort out and they clog the machine.”

And it costs Methuen money: a tipping fee that’s $110 per ton.

Instead, empty the recyclable contents in the blue-topped bin; bring the plastic bag to a drop-off center or put it in the trash. NO plastic bags or wraps (like those covering a case of water) are recyclable.

Other items that “contaminate” a recycling load are food and liquids (rinse your containers before recycling them) and Styrofoam.

“We get this contamination rate when (the recycling facility) dumps recyclables and finds trash in it,” Perry said. “We’re currently at 16.4% (contamination rate). We need to get to less than 10%.”

It’s also important to keep your trash lid closed on rainy days, as water-logged garbage tips the scales.

“If we all do our best, we’ll save the city money and be more environmentally friendly as a community,” Cosgrove said.

For info on recycling, visit cityofmethuen.net and click GOVERNMENT, then click PUBLIC WORKS. Learn more about recycling (including the Recyclopedia of what is and is not recyclable) at recyclesmartma.org and Recycle Smart MA on Facebook. If you have additional questions, contact Cosgrove at (978) 983 8563.