Trash Pick-Up Delayed by Holidays and Snow

DENNISVILLE – Humans make garbage. This fact is indisputable. However, when people expect their trash to be picked up on a certain day and the town doesn’t provide this service, tempers may flare. Such is the case with Denise Field, a resident of Dennisville who claims her trash pick-up has been continually pushed back one, sometimes two days for each consecutive week since late November 2013.
“It’s awful,” Field said. “The week of Jan. 12-17, the trash and recyclable pick-ups were two days behind. Then the next week, on Jan. 24, they were still a day behind and all they did was pick up the trash only. The recyclable buckets were left at the curb and they never came back! I called Public Works and of course all you get is a recording. I left a message and they never called me back.”
Field went on to say that the trash collectors have a “ridiculous extended contract” and they get many more holidays than regular government employees.
Dennis Township Committeeman Brian Teefy is head of the Public Works department. When asked about trash collectors’ holidays, Teefy said they receive the same amount of holiday time as all other government employees. “This is the second time it’s happened because of a storm occurring the same week as a township holiday,” Teefy said, referring to the snow event that occurred Jan. 22. Unfortunately, due the weather and Martin Luther King Day, the trash pick-up was pushed back two days.
When you only have five days in a given week, it pushes it back into the next one. Ms. Fields’ trash got picked up but her recyclables didn’t. They tried the best they could to get as much as they could off of the street.”
“I understand that we had snow days,” Field said. “They haven’t picked the trash up on the proper days. Sometimes on their web site, they will be post changes. But there are still piles of leaves and Christmas trees lying around. The wind blows the garbage all over the place. Kids are dodging flying debris and garbage waiting for the school bus.”
“Unfortunately we can’t control Mother Nature,” Teefy admitted. “But when the Jan. 22 storm was being forecast for 12-16 inches, at that point I had the guys come in the night before at 5 p.m. to try to get what they could off the street and then get the trucks ready with the plows and the salt and the whole nine yards. We wanted to be prepared for our roads with emergency vehicles and everything.”
“My husband still has to go to work when it snows, my daughter still has to go to work. The mail lady comes in her little truck on snow days. She’s doing her job. Why couldn’t the township in those big trucks come and do their job?”
According to Vernon Champion, the Public Works assistant supervisor, the individuals who collect the trash are the ones also plowing the streets.
Field claimed to have seen trash collectors hanging out at the local WaWa. “If you’re saying you don’t have enough hours in the day to do your job then why are you hanging out in the parking lot for hours?” Fields wanted to know.
“If you ride by the WaWa, you might see a trash truck parked there,” Teefy said. “They are entitled to a 15-minute break in the morning, a lunch break, and one in the afternoon.” Teefy said that Field called him to tell him about how trash collectors were allegedly hanging out at the WaWa. Teefy said he got in his car and drove over there. By the time he arrived, five minutes later, the trash trucks were gone. “They pretty much took their 15-minute break. They are entitled to that. That’s in their contract. I think that, especially if you’re hauling trash in this weather, it’s nice to get a cup of coffee when it’s 18 degrees out.”
Field lives in Area 4 and her trash is scheduled to be picked up every Thursday. As recently as Jan. 30 she says they were still a day late picking it up. But then, there was another snowstorm the previous day, Jan. 29. Field said she spoke with Mayor John Murphy about her complaint. “I told him at this point that he lost my vote and I’m not going to vote for any of his constituents. I guess its just business as usual!”
To contact Bryon Cahill, email bcahill@cmcherald.com.