New Bedford Mayor: City Not Paying E.L. Harvey After Failure to Pick Up Trash

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said he’s not happy E.L. Harvey did not collect trash during the hauler's final weekend under its contract with the city.

The company, which served as the city’s trash hauler since purchasing ABC Disposal in 2021, did not pick up over 11,000 bins of garbage during the first weekend of July after the City entered into a new contract with Boston-based Capitol Waste Services, Inc.

Employees from the Department of Facilities and Fleet Management, Department of Public Infrastructure and Capitol Waste Services collected the bins throughout Saturday and Sunday.

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Speaking on WBSM with hosts Marcus Ferro and Chris McCarthy on Wednesday, Mitchell praised City employees while criticizing E.L. Harvey for refusing to pick up the trash.

“I was shocked that many were left behind,” Mitchell said about the trash barrels. “We’re not going to pay Harvey their last payment. We’re very disappointed by the fact that they walked away.”

Several New Bedford residents expressed praise and gratitude towards Capitol Waste Services for their hard work.

Neil Tavares said he was impressed with the speed of the trash collection from his house.

“They were hustling today,” Tavares said. “Two guys on my street were pretty much running. You have to give them credit. They were hustling.”

Kimberly Aubut shared Mitchell’s frustration towards E.L. Harvey, and accused them of leaving trash on the streets.

“E.L. Harvey should be ashamed of themselves,” Aubut said. “They knew their contract ended yesterday, and decided to pull a no-show to most customers.”

Representatives from E.L. Harvey could not be reached for further comment.

Capitol Waste Services Inc. currently has about 180 employees and has hired former employees of E.L. Harvey.

The city’s contract with Capitol Waste Services Inc. began on July 3, while the contract with E.L. Harvey ended on June 30.

Mitchell said his administration chose Capitol Waste Services after hearing complaints from constituents about the quality of service provided by E.L. Harvey.

“It was close on cost, but there was just a very strong feeling their services were going to be the most complete and reliable, and that’s why we went with them,” Mitchell said. “We’re very confident this is a company, Capitol, that will provide our residents the service they expect and deserve.”