By Brad Stager
Faced with a shortage of sanitation truck drivers, one company that collects trash in Hillsborough County has temporarily stopped picking up recyclables.
County residents whose solid waste is collected by Waste Connections have not had recyclables picked up since June 24. Waste Connections is one of three companies providing garbage collection service to county residents.
Hillsborough County said the reason is that the company has a shortage of drivers and can only provide twice-weekly trash collection if it suspends the once-weekly recyclable service. County officials attributed the shortage of drivers to the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on staffing.
Osprey Observer readers affected by the service disruption are those in the Hillsborough County Solid Waste Management Department’s district number 5. The area covers unincorporated Southeast Hillsborough County with Gibsonton Dr./Boyette Rd./Fishhawk Blvd./Lithia Pinecrest Rd. as the north boundary and extends south to the Manatee County line and east from Tampa Bay to the Polk County line.
According to Hillsborough County Solid Waste Division the disruption is temporary and their goal is to maintain a high level of service to residents. One consequence of suspending the collection of recyclable materials is that more of it is showing up in the regular garbage.
For residents who want to drop off their recyclables, they can do so at the county’s Community Collection Center, Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 13000 US 41 in Gibsonton.
If a regular garbage pickup is missed you can report it by calling the solid waste management customer service team at 272-5680 or visiting online at hillsboroughcounty.org (https://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/government/departments/solid-waste), where you can also verify which company picks up your trash by entering your address in a search function.
