Caroline County, Virginia (WRIC) – Delayed garbage collection is a major problem in some parts of Virginia.
Residents of Pleasant View Road in Caroline County say their neighborhood can smell like sewage when waiting weeks for trash to be picked up.
GFL Environmental covers homes in the area after acquiring County Waste, a garbage collection service. Residents continue to try to contact GFL Environmental about ongoing issues through a variety of means.
LaTanya King, a resident, told 8News that she started noticing the problem a month ago. She said County Waste used to come pick up her trash on Friday mornings, but has since changed companies. In the meantime, she was not sent a new trash can and she spent a month without picking up her trash.
Ms. King said she feels angry and used to it.
“It’s like going to a restaurant and paying your hard-earned money without good service,” King says. “They don’t come. They don’t show up. Try calling them. Now nobody answers the phone, or when you call them they hang up or make false promises. “
Other residents in the neighborhood have found other alternatives, such as filling some cans with garbage and keeping it at home or burning it.
David Usher Jr., King’s grandson, told 8News that the stench was so bad that the garbage was attracting animals. said.
“Snakes and cockroaches came out,” Usher Jr. said. “People are literally looking at rats and things and it’s so disgusting.”
Latia Foster lives in the neighborhood and sometimes has to fill four trash cans at once. Foster shared screenshots of surveillance footage from her home. In that screenshot, a bear appeared near her front door on the night of July 5th. The bear was trying to get into her trash can.
Foster says bear sightings are on the rise, so people have to make noise, turn up their radios and honk their car horns so they can safely enter their homes. .
King said he drove to Fredericksburg last week to get answers.
She said she was told “systems and phone lines are down”.
According to GFL Environmental’s Midlothian office, the company’s Fredericksburg office has about 50 routes. There is a minor routing issue that we are working on.
Mr. King was given a brochure stating that the route would be changed from June 27th and the pick up date would be changed.
The Stafford County landfill is now offering free disposal to residents of Stafford County and the city of Fredericksburg through Sunday, July 24.
King said he would like to see some improvements.
“I want them to take the lead in running their business. Pick up trash responsibly,” said King.
In the meantime, residents can call 1-800-832-1332 for assistance.
