Haverhill, MA Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Under City Code § 173-4, the Superintendent of Highways has charge of the care and clearing of the City's streets and ways, while the Board of Health, unless the work is under contract, has charge of removing all refuse and of the collection, removal and disposal of all house dirt, ashes, waste and rubbish, except swill and offal, from estates throughout the City of Haverhill. The section, adopted originally in the 1963 City Code as Sec. 32-44 and carried into Chapter 173 during the 2007 recodification (Doc.

76), gives the Board of Health power to make "such rules and regulations as it may deem proper and necessary" for how that collection is carried out, meaning the day-to-day pickup schedule, hauler contracts and any seasonal changes are set administratively rather than printed in the ordinance itself. Residents who need the current pickup calendar or holiday schedule must check the Board of Health's regulations directly rather than the Code. The same chapter separately requires (§ 173-9) that tenants, occupants or owners in the Commercial Central (CC) zoning district keep sidewalks free of trash, garbage or refuse at all times, backed by a $50-per-day fine after 24 hours' notice from the Board of Health.

Because § 173-4 carries no listed specific penalty in the citywide penalty schedule at § 1-16B(2), a failure to comply with the Board of Health's collection rules and regulations falls under the general penalty of § 1-16A: a maximum fine of $300 per violation, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense, pursued by complaint or indictment in Haverhill District Court.