The trash sat outside the Charlotte home for days when residents asked if recycling trucks were coming.
Charlotte, North Carolina — Charlotte’s recycling service was delayed several times in October.
“We are catching up” Eric Delapena, Deputy Director of Operations, Charlotte solid waste servicesSaid.
He said his department is down by 20 drivers and the shortage of qualified applicants has gotten progressively worse over the last year.
A manpower shortage forced them to focus on covering garbage collection and delaying garden waste and recycling services.
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“When there are fewer people working, employees are working longer hours,” says DeLaPena. Added.
Meanwhile, in the Charlotte area, which uses K&S Sanitation for recycling, We will be serving for a week or more in early October.
“I was going to take all my belongings, but they didn’t take their belongings, so I didn’t know what to do.” said Jacklyn Doolittle, kneeling down to retrieve the trash can.
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doolittle i learned from my neighbors K&S Sanitation She didn’t come pick up her recycling and advised the town’s home community to combine it with their trash.
In an email, K&S Sanitation said the recycling plant to which its trucks were headed was temporarily closed due to a shortage of staff, forcing K&S to suspend recycling services on October 4..
“We want to do our part and recycle as properly as possible, so it’s a shame we have to throw our recycling in the trash.
K&S told WCNC Charlotte that a factory owned by another company reopened on Oct. 12, returning to its normal pick-up schedule.
of city of charlotte said it uses third-party contractors to fill the driver gap.We also host We conduct recruitment events such as public interviews and offer referral bonuses to address shortfalls.
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As residents figure out the best ways to recycle, WCNCCharlotte I also learned that Mecklenburg County is phasing out the use of unmanned drop-off locations.
The county closed its uptown recycling location on Monday. This is because of the problem of dumpster fires and homeless camps. Compost Central Center It’s on Valleydale Road instead.
Contact Julia Kaufmann jkauffman@wcnc.com follow her Facebook, twitter When Instagram.
