New Bedford’s ABC Disposal Takes Responsibility for I-195 Trash Dump
We told you last night about the mountains of trash on I-195 leading from Mattapoisett all the way to New Bedford. This morning, we found out what caused the massive trash dump.
ABC Disposal is claiming responsibility. Mike Camara, CEO of the trash company, told us this morning that he found out about the problem late last night. Camara said that the problem stemmed from a couple of malfunctions that happened simultaneously on one of his hybrid split body garbage/recycling trucks.
One of the malfunctions happened on the garbage side of the truck.
"When the back door of the trash side malfunctioned, the spring was released and the trash was pushed back," he said. "What's troublesome is that along with that, there are alarms systems in the cab flashing lights for each hopper in the back of the truck that will alert the driver that the door malfunctioned. Those alarms also failed."
Camara said that he is now worried about his entire fleet of 30 trucks. The CEO is worried that if it happened to one of his trucks, it could happen to others.
"I know our folks are speaking with the manufacturer located up in Canada. They're trying to assess why this happened," he said. "The truck will not be leaving the yard until it is repaired and this problem is addressed."
ABC Disposal staff worked with Big Wheel Towing and Recovery out of East Freetown overnight to clear the highways and roads of the trash. Multiple drivers called into Michael and Maddie to express their shock at how little trash there was left after the accidental dumping last night.