Nine cities and towns north of Boston scrambled to find trash and recycling haulers after Hiltz Waste Disposal of Gloucester announced its services would cease at the end of the day Aug. 31.

In July, eight of the towns had been told by Hiltz that residential services would end at the end of September as the company restructured its business. Gloucester decided to end its affiliation with the company at the same time.

Officials in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Swampscott, Hamilton, Wenham, Marblehead, Stoneham, Groveland, and Wakefield (recycling) had to move more quickly to cover the collections and inform residents.

Gloucester asked its new hauler, JRM Hauling and Recycling of Peabody, which was scheduled to begin in October, to move up its timetable. JRM began trash pickup in the city Sept. 1.

In other cases, officials had to make quick agreements to keep up with the need for services. Jeff Vaughan, Swampscott public health director, said he got the news from Hiltz on the day of the deadline to accept bids from haulers interested in the town’s business.

“It was a very quick turnover from there,’’ said Vaughan, who selected Republic Services, a national company with a facility in Revere. Republic began collecting trash Sept. 3.

In Manchester-by-the-Sea, Carol Murray, interim Department of Public Works director, thought she had weeks to evaluate and consider two companies that bid for her town’s contract.

“It went from a month to 12 hours,’’ said Murray, who hired Woburn-based Waste Management.

Marblehead and Wakefield also switched to JRM, while Groveland will use Waste Management. Stoneham and Wenham have contracted with Casella Waste Management, which also has a local base in Peabody.

In Gloucester, JRM Recycling and Hauling was collecting trash Sept. 1, but Department of Public Works director Mike Hale said he expected some issues to arise during the transition to a new hauler.

“We have an almost 400-year-old city,’’ he said, noting that it could take some time for the new haulers to adjust to the geography and obtain some local knowledge. He also noted that while residents are expected to have their trash out by 7 a.m., a resident whose trash has normally been picked up at 9 a.m. by Hiltz may now have a different timetable.

“It will sort itself out within a few weeks,’’ Hale said. “But we need to get through that period.’’

In a statement, Deborah Hiltz, president of Hiltz, called the decision to stop servicing the communities “difficult but necessary for the continued viability of the company.’’

David Rattigan can be reached at drattigan.globe@gmail.com.