Mayor Addresses Bradenton’s Ongoing Solid Waste Pick-Up Problems
BRADENTON, FL — For months, a staffing shortage has impacted solid waste pick-up in the city of Bradenton.
Without enough CDL drivers — an issue plaguing the industry across the country — the city was forced to alternate weekly yard waste and recycling pick-up starting in July.
The issue has only gotten worse in recent weeks with recycling and yard waste pick-up, which is still alternating weekly, getting backed up, sometimes for days.
“I want you to know that we at the city of Bradenton understand your frustration. We know it has been difficult,” Mayor Gene Brown wrote in a letter to residents that was published in Wednesday’s Bradenton Update, a weekly newsletter from the city.
While the Solid Waste Division’s employees are working hard to keep up with recycling and yard waste collection, “they haven’t had a full team in a very long time,” Brown wrote.
The week of Jan. 12, there were 14 unfilled positions and seven workers out sick, including five with COVID-19, Jeannie Roberts, the city’s communications coordinator, told Patch. When fully staffed, the department has 51 full-time employees.
There have been multiple staff openings in the department for months, especially CDL drivers.
“Sometimes, our Solid Waste employees can’t do their jobs because there is no one properly licensed to drive the truck for them,” the mayor wrote. “When it becomes necessary, supervisors, who are usually back in the office, help out on the trucks as well. Sometimes, employees who don’t even work in our Solid Waste Division volunteer to work on a Saturday throwing yard waste into the back of their own pickup trucks.”
While these issues are impacting solid waste collection in Bradenton, the city will update its Facebook page and website daily with information about staffing and collection progress, Brown said.
The most recent Facebook update on the issue was shared Wednesday around 9 a.m. In this post, the city said that because of “the very high volume of yard waste crews encountered” Tuesday, they worked until after 5 p.m. They also left three “small subdivisions” to pick up with Wednesday’s route.
On Tuesday morning, the city said that after delays, last week’s recycling pick-up was completed on Saturday. Department supervisors were also out on the trucks Tuesday to help with yard waste collection.
The city also continues to operate four supplemental yard waste drop-off sites, which were established in September, throughout Bradenton.
Yard-waste containers have been set up at the following locations:
Cordova Lakes, 38th Avenue West and 61st Street West
Ware's Creek, 17th Avenue West Park parking lot
Braden River Lakes/River Isles, east end of Oakleaf Boulevard
Dream Center, 24th Street East, south end of the parking area
The Braden River Lakes/River Isles container has a 10-cubic yard capacity, while the others are 20 cubic yards.
Only yard waste should go in these containers and no commercial or contractor dumping is allowed. City supervisors will inspect each site daily.
This article originally appeared on the Bradenton Patch
