Atlanta has committed to pay a $500 signing bonus for trash collectors who sign on to help the city end service reductions by a department plagued by staffing shortfalls. This summer, yard waste collections were cut in half, to twice a month, as the sanitation staff continued to decline. For more than a year, the department has struggled to meet responsibilities that include collecting materials including garbage and trash, recycling and yard waste, plus the task of keeping rights of way free of rubbish.
Atlanta City Councilmember Andrea Boone has worked to resolve the staffing problems. In her Southwest Atlanta district, Boone’s efforts include coordinating volunteer clean-up programs along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, most recently in May. On Tuesday, she said the bonuses should help.
“The $500 incentive is a great step in the right direction to getting good, quality workers hired,” Boone said. “In six weeks, we will see great improvements in recycling and trash collection.”
Other positive signs include hiring fairs focused on bringing workers into the sanitation department, and renewed efforts by the city’s workforce development agency to steer qualified candidates to these job openings, Boone said.