REVERE — Beginning on Monday, Nov. 26 residents can purchase additional blue trash carts online.
The carts can be purchased at www.revere.org/permitting. Only online payments can be accepted. Additional payment options will be available by the end of the year.
One heavy-duty, 65-gallon rodent-proof barrel was distributed to every household in the city to be used for municipal trash collection in October. 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 received 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.
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 last month.
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.
Residents who do not have access to a computer or smartphone can use the kiosk at the Board of Health office located in the rear of the American Legion Building at 249 Broadway.