Shelby County Health Department 'very concerned' over trash troubles

WRTV's Kaitlyn Kendall talks with Shelby County residents who say their trash hasn't been picked up in more than two weeks.

By: Kaitlyn Kendall

BOGGSTOWN — More Shelby County residents are frustrated after weeks without trash pick-up.

The leader of the local health department says it could become a health hazard and said he was "very concerned."

"It's an issue. It's not acceptable. It's not acceptable for a company to run that way," Shaune Clark, a resident of Boggstown said.

The streets of Boggstown are lined with trash bins, many of them overflowing.

"It's very frustrating, especially with a family of five and we only have the two trash cans and it's been over two weeks now, so it's just — it's just enough already," said Nickole Mitchelle.

The trash has been sitting for over two weeks. Trash day is Friday and folks in Boggstown have had their pick-up missed twice.

"Just walking on some of these side streets it's just the smell, it's just atrocious," Clark said. "Because it's been sitting out there, it will be 3 weeks this Friday. People that have small children that have diapers, or cats with cat litter, or I clean my backyard, I clean the waste out of there. It's not a good thing to have around, then, of course, we have a lot of wildlife. The raccoons, if the trash isn't heavy enough, are going to get in there and drag it all out for you."

But why is Waste Management not picking up their trash?

In a statement, a spokesperson said the company is navigating supply chain constraints that are affecting delivery.

They add the Morristown facility, which services Boggstown, has a limited number of trucks available to service accounts.

WM is currently navigating supply chain constraints that are affecting delivery schedules in asset categories such as trucks and supporting equipment. At Morristown Hauling, WM has been experiencing this very challenge, which has limited the number of trucks available to service accounts. As of this week, WM is taking additional action, and deploying trucks from neighboring locations to support and streamline the expected, timely and safe service our communities deserve. WM commits to taking care of each other, our customers, our communities, and the environment – and our team will be working weekends to ensure accounts are serviced as we continue to navigate the ongoing supply chain constraints.

Waste Management

"The service we had before it changed hands never had this problem," Mitchelle said. "I find it hard to believe that okay suddenly we have all these trucks down when two, three months ago when we had the other service we didn't have any problem."

Neighbors are frustrated and say it isn't just inconvenient, they're concerned about health hazards with trash lying around.

WRTV sent the following questions to Waste Management for a response after receiving their statement, they responded.

Is waste management dealing with a labor shortage on top of parts issues?

With the shortage of talent pool presented to us, we are developing our own workforce. Examples include:

Offering large signing bonuses for hard-to-fill permanent jobs including drivers and technicians as well as provide employee referral bonuses.
Increasing wages for full-time frontline workers and temp workers.
Having a work/life balance for frontline positions like drivers. Waste and recycling truck drivers are “short-haul” driving positions, allowing the driver to be home at night to spend time with family.

If someone’s trash is missed will they be reimbursed or receive a credit to their account? If so, how do they go about getting that?

Residents may contact the local, WM customer service team to remedy and receive account support and credit at dhart2@wm.com.

Customers fear this is a public health situation, what is Waste Management's response to that?

The safety of our customers and the communities we serve, live and work in is the highest priority for every WM employee. We commit to always working to keep our communities safe and clean – and are working quickly and innovatively to sincerely address and remedy every concern.

Residents in Boggstown and Fairland have gone over two weeks without their trash being picked up. Can you provide a timeline for residents dealing with missed pick-up?

WM will resume service for Fairland and Boggstown on Tuesday and Friday. For the residents scheduled on Tuesday, they will be serviced today, Tuesday, May 24. The residents scheduled for Friday will be serviced on Friday, May 27.

If residents in Boggstown and Fairland, where pick-up has been missed, need to dump their trash can they drive it to the facility and dump it themselves free of charge? If so, how do they go about that?

Residents that need recovery prior to their scheduled service day may dispose of their trash at Shelby County Transfer Station for no cost. Shelby County Transfer Station is located on 1304 N. Michigan Rd in Shelbyville. Residents will need to provide their name and address – and will be permitted to dispose at no cost.

Customers of Waste Management tell WRTV that for two bins they pay around $90 a month for service.

It angers them they aren't getting a service they pay for, some say they are considering switching trash providers.

At the time of this report, residents in both Fairland and Boggstown say their trash has not been picked up.