Recycling resumes for some Polk residents after suspending service due to worker shortages

On Monday, recycling services will resume for some residents in Polk County after being temporarily suspended six weeks ago due to trash pickup issues.

Back in February, Polk County leaders said trash pickup for residents in the western part of their county was days behind schedule, causing mountains of trash outside of people’s homes and businesses. Not only was it an eyesore, but it also smelled.

Some residents were even reporting that the garbage piles were attracting wild animals like rats and raccoons. The complaints led county commissioners to declare a public health emergency, stating that the situation was a major health concern and needed to be addressed.

The problems stemmed from worker shortages and other challenges that FCC Environmental Services, the company responsible for trash pickup, said that they were facing. Therefore, in an effort to give the company a chance to catch up on their routes, the county agreed to temporarily suspend recycling pickup.

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FCC Environmental Services told the county that things have been improving over the past month. They said they’ve received fewer complaints, and added that they’ve also hired more workers. However, the county said that they’ll consider bringing in another company to help FCC if needed.

In the meantime, service will resume for some residents on Monday, but others will have to wait at least another week as the company will be resuming service in two phases. Households that fall under ‘Week A’ will see their recycling picked up on Monday, while households under ‘Week B’ will get their recycling collected on April 11.

The company said they notified residents as to what group they would fall into, but residents can also visit the Polk County website to see an interactive map with the most up-to-date pickup information.