{"id":21979,"date":"2017-07-20T09:51:42","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T13:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wasteadvantagemag.com\/?p=21979"},"modified":"2017-07-20T09:51:42","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T13:51:42","slug":"shortage-of-landfill-drivers-creates-mountain-of-garbage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wasteadvantagemag.com\/shortage-of-landfill-drivers-creates-mountain-of-garbage\/","title":{"rendered":"Shortage of Landfill Drivers Creates Mountain of Garbage"},"content":{"rendered":"
Loads of trash are piling up in Cobb County, leading to a smelly mess.<\/p>\n
Channel 2\u2019s Carl Willis spoke with a concerned neighbor who told him that the pickup schedule is behind, and the trash is piling up faster than it can be hauled away from transfer stations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m seeing a place that\u2019s full,\u201d resident Carl\u00a0Knill said. \u201cIt\u2019s never been like this before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Knill has been coming to the Cobb County Station on County Service Road for over 20 years.<\/p>\n
He said the issue is getting out of hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Saturday, I came and there was a line all down almost a quarter mile one way and a quarter mile the other way, going up the road,\u201d Knill said.<\/p>\n
Custom Ecology, or CEI, said the buildup of trash results from not having enough Class A truck drivers who can operate an 18-wheeler and haul trash from these temporary holding sites to landfills.<\/p>\n
When you combine the shortage of class A truck drivers with recent wet weather, the result is trash stations that have overflowed or shut down altogether.<\/p>\n
Thus, residents such as\u00a0Veronda Carter began to see delays in residential trash pickup.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the first time that I\u2019ve been out here that the trash is stacked to the ceiling,\u201d Carter told Willis. \u201cYou can see the trash from the street.\u201d<\/p>\n
One sanitation company left an apology for its customers.<\/p>\n
As the problem continues to get worse, CEI is working to recruit more drivers and on-site managers from out of state.<\/p>\n