Trash made easy: Worcester unveils vending machines for pay-as-you-throw bags

WORCESTER — The city's new 311 Customer Service Center in the Main South neighborhood features a new idea meant to address a hot-button issue in the city: access to yellow trash bags.

The customer service center at 799 Main St. is home of Worcester's first trash bag vending machine, where residents can purchase sleeves of trash bags that are part of the city's pickup system.

"There's been a lot of conversation about trash bags," City Manager Eric D. Batista said to chuckles inside the service center. "They're not free, but we provide a more innovative way for people to come in and access trash bags."

Like with a vending machine for candy or a soda, residents can dial on a keypad on the vending machine to select the trash bag sleeve they wish to purchase. Dialing the sleeve number will list its price.

Sleeves of 10 small yellow bags cost $10 while sleeves of five large bags cost $8.75.

The city has a pay-as-you-throw yellow trash bag program where residents wanting curbside pickup have to put waste in yellow trash bags that can be purchased at local retailers.

Opinions about the quality of yellow trash bags are divided within the city, but residents and city councilors have complained that access to the bags is difficult due to high demand and the limited number of stores that carry them.

The city administration has acknowledged that trash in the street and trash pickup are among the major recurring concerns they hear from residents.

The trash vending machine met a demand for more easily accessible yellow trash bags, Batista said.

Charles Goodwin, city director of emergency communications/emergency management, said he did not always get "normal look(s)" when the idea of a trash bag vending machine was pitched.

"It was something different, but it was an opportunity of how we can serve the neighborhood, the community, as a whole and bring something to them that we heard that they needed," Goodwin said.

The 600-pound machine also required a team effort to move into the building, Goodwin said.

Brenda Jenkins of the Main South Beacon Brightly Neighborhood Association attested to the need for more access to the yellow bags, saying she actually needed to restock on bags Tuesday and the nearby corner store runs out of bags quick.

Tuesday's ribbon cutting was a relaunch of the idea of a city service center in Main South. Right next door at 801 Main St., the city opened the Municipal Service Center & Main South Biz Hub in 2020 to operate as a "mini City Hall."

The new center also features three customer service desks. It will offer municipal services such as birth and death certificates, dog licenses and business certificates, and the city has worked with the federal government for passport registrations and renewals. Walk-in assistance with Worcester 311 staff is also available.

However, Batista acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic led to the previous center struggling to establish itself in the neighborhood.

"This is one of the most important parts of our jobs as representatives of our community. It's about bringing government to our community, not always expecting the community to come and find us," state Sen. Robyn Kennedy, D-Worcester, said.

The space can also be used for neighborhood meetings and workshops and will serve as a warming and cooling center, Batista said. The center will also be the only place in the city besides the main Post Office at East Central Street.

The state Department of Transitional Assistance will have a kiosk at the center and Batista said the city hopes available services can expand.

Jenkins thanked the officials for their effort.

"Thank you for giving the neighborhood hope again and giving them the support, because sometimes they lose trust when there's inconsistency," Jenkins said. "I want you to look at Main South the same way you look at the Canal District, the same way you look at Shrewsbury Street because we have vibrant businesses that are very diverse and offer quality services and products."

District 4 City Councilor Luis Ojeda was excited to see the center open in his district. However, he jokingly asked Batista to not equip it with Microsoft software after a major worldwide outage July 19, which led to Ojeda having a delayed flight.

Over a year ago, the city launched a 311 mobile app last July. The app centralizes requests for nonemergency services from the city and requests can be submitted 24/7.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Trash made easy: Worcester unveils vending machines for pay-as-you-throw bags