Employee illness and staff shortages lead to Manatee County garbage pickup delays
A bout of employee illnesses is causing delays in trash pickup for Manatee County Utilities’ customers this week, the county said Wednesday.
The staff shortage is among WastePro and Waste Management employees, according to Amy Pilson, public information officer for the county’s Utilities Department. Because the county uses third-party contractors, it’s unknown whether the employees called out sick due to COVID-19.
“Our employees do not pick up the trash. Waste Management and WastePro collect it, and right now, they’ve had a hard time getting and keeping employees. About seven or eight have called in sick, so the sickness is not with regard to county employees,” Pilson said.
Pilson explained that the trash pickup has been especially delayed in eastern parts of the county, but the delay may be seen throughout the county.
All garbage will still be collected, an advisory from the county said, but pickup may be at least a day late. Trash that is not picked up by 7 p.m. on a resident’s usual collection day should be brought back in overnight and then placed back out at the curb before 6 a.m. the following morning, the county advised.
All regular trash pickups will be completed by Saturday evening, according to Manatee County.
The city of Bradenton has also struggled to fulfill its trash, recycling and yard waste routes in recent weeks. The city’s Public Works Department sent an alert Wednesday morning warning residents that yard waste collection is running a day behind and will be collected by the end of day on Saturday.
This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 5:05 PM.
