Medford officials say they expect to save millions by cutting trash collection in half, as residents in the Greater Boston city argue that the “embarrassing” plan is a sign that new leadership is needed at City Hall.

A feud continues to build in Medford as officials aim to reduce trash collection from once a week to once every two weeks, starting in July 2027, but scores of residents are demanding the city discard the plan, citing a lack of transparency and concerns over sanitation.

“I know there’s a lot being said about this change to our trash collection,” Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said at a community forum Monday night, “and we definitely want to hear your thoughts on the program. It’s clear that there is some anger and frustration out there. That’s understandable.”

Lungo-Koehn and other officials are facing fierce opposition to the rollback, which they announced in the lower half of a November press release on a $200,000 state grant that the city received to strengthen its so-called “zero waste” initiatives.

In her brief remarks on the reduction, Lungo-Koehn invited residents to voice their concerns so that she could work with the city to “potentially adjust our plan accordingly and make as many people as possible happy with this change.”

The mayor is connecting the change to how the state Department of Environmental Protection is considering a ban on residential food waste, which would take effect no sooner than November 2030.

“Food waste is a main driver of collection costs due to its weight,” Lungo-Koehn said. “By diverting food waste from our trash bins and our incinerators, we’re not only reducing our overall trash tonnage, but we’re lowering our … disposal costs.”

A resident named Kim, who did not share her last name on the virtual forum, said that the mess is a sign that Lungo-Koehn, in her fourth term, and other officials need to be replaced.

“We clearly need some new leadership in here,” Kim said. “They are not listening to the people. It’s pretty embarrassing that we have to come on here on a Monday, right before the holidays, and fight with our town about something we never got to even vote on.”

Under the new service, residential 64-gallon trash carts will be collected every other week, along with recycling at no charge, beginning in July 2027. Officials say the baseline will “equate to 32 gallons per household per week.” Residents could continue to lease additional 64-gallon trash and 96-gallon recycling carts.

That service volume, officials say, meets the state’s criteria for the DEP’s “Pay As You Throw” program, making the city eligible for the grants.

Public Works Commissioner Tim McGivern highlighted how the average reported solid waste disposal fee across Massachusetts increased from $87 per ton in 2021 to $103 per ton in 2024. That cost is expected to continue to increase, he said.

McGivern added that over the course of the collection contracts, which go through June 2035, the city could expect to save $13 million from composting and waste reduction. He also expressed some uncertainty.

“We can’t necessarily predict trash disposal, or the recycling market, in the future,” McGivern said, “but we’re gonna do the best … we can.”

Residents pressed officials on what they’d do with the expected $13 million in savings and whether that money would be reallocated elsewhere.

Lungo-Koehn and officials have claimed they “publicly” presented the contract before the City Council approved it in July 2023. Some city councilors have countered that the council never approved a specific contract, but rather, authorized the mayor to enter into one.

Not all residents are opposed to the rollback.

“It’s really impressive the way you’ve been able to come up with a plan that addresses our climate goals,” resident Milva McDonald told officials on Monday, “as well as the budget issues the city is going to be facing.”

The rollback surfaced in national and international headlines after the Herald first reported on the plan last month, with comedian Seth Meyers even picking up on the controversy.

“The mayor of Medford, Massachusetts, recently announced a new waste removal program, which will reduce trash pickups to once every two weeks, but it’s Massachusetts,” Meyers said on his late-night show on NBC, “so bottle recycling is still every day.”

In a social media post, City Councilor Tseng vowed that he remained “committed to a Medford that tackles climate change with the community … not as a laughingstock on national TV.” The remark came after Lungo-Koehn apologized in a Facebook video for the way the city announced the reduction.

Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn (Official city portrait)
Medford City Hall. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)