Problems with trash pickup are making it harder for thousands of people around Northeast Florida to go green with curbside recycling. The city of Jacksonville is about to bring in a new company to handle trash and recycling in some parts of Jacksonville. Right now, Republic Services picks up the recycling bins in Northwest Jacksonville and across parts of the Northside and Arlington. But, by the end of the month, another company, Meridian, will take over.
Next to overflowing trash bins and piles of yard waste in Northwest Jacksonville are recycling bins that residents say have yet to be picked up by the city. Clifton Sanders lives in Northwest Jacksonville and says his street’s pickup has been delayed for weeks. “Recycle has been a little late being picked up. In the last two weeks, they’ve been picking up recycle regularly, and the trash, they haven’t picked it up in over a month,” Sanders said.
The city says hiring and keeping employees has been a problem. The number of recycling pickup complaints it has received in the last six months across the city — about 1,700 in April, then 3,400 in May, around 1,000 each in June and July, with a spike in August of more than 4,600 complaints. And halfway through the month of September, there are already more than 3,500 complaints about recycling pickup across Jacksonville.