REVERE — Revere is trying to can a rat problem by changing the way garbage is collected.
Beginning next week, the Department of Public Works will supply every residential property in the city with a heavy-duty 65-gallon trash cart to dispose of trash.
The heavy-duty, rodent-proof barrels will be distributed to every household in the city to be used for municipal trash collection. Use of rodent-resistant bags for disposal of trash was made mandatory by a local ordinance and the Inspectional Services Department said penalties would strictly be enforced for failure to use them.
Each residence will receive one barrel, thanks to a $900,000 allocation from the city, and each additional barrel that a residence needs will cost $150, or $75 for seniors. The carts can be ordered through the city’s 3-1-1 constituency services telephone service.
Overflowing trash barrels, the use of flimsy trash bags left lying on sidewalks, overgrown shrubbery, and careless disposal of garbage have all led to the prominent rat problem, according to a statement on the city’s website.
“Rats proliferate when there is a food supply, and when residents use flimsy trash bags or use careless trash bags or use careless trash disposal, it’s like setting out a meal for a rat,” said Mayor Brian Arrigo.
Rodents and overgrown and unsanitary conditions are by far the most frequent complaint logged at the Mayor’s 311 Constituent Services hotline, and these complaints tend to originate in areas where reported rat activity is high, said Arrigo.
Arrigo said it is imperative that people are careful with storage and disposal of trash and that they keep their property free of overgrown shrubs and items that can serve as shelters for rats.
Rats colonize in nests and maintain their own territories. Individually, rats typically remain within a 150-foot radius of their nest, according to a statement from Arrigo’s office. They flourish in neighborhoods where their needs for food, water, and shelter are being met.
“In other words, inadvertently we are treating rats like pets rather than predators,” said Arrigo.
At the end of June, $150,000 in the Fiscal Year 2019 budget was allocated for rodent control. A major component of the first phase of the project was to retain four extermination companies.
In the first four weeks of the program, more than 560 property owners reached out to the city for extermination.
Six weeks per year, coinciding with New Year’s, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, overflow trash in non-city-issued receptacles will be permitted. Even on these overflow weeks, residents are prohibited from leaving plastic trash bags on the ground.
On the second and fourth Saturdays of each month from 7 a.m. to noon, residents can bring overflow trash to the city yard at 321R Charger St. for disposal. They will be charged $3 per bag for this service.
