Chesapeake residents struggling with citywide bulk trash pickup delays

CHESAPEAKE, Va. - Residents in Chesapeake are experiencing bulk trash pickup delays caused by ongoing worker shortages.

“Due to ongoing staff shortages, Chesapeake residents needing bulk waste collection should make requests either by telephone or online, place their items at the curb on their next regularly scheduled collection day, and leave the items curbside until they are collected,” the City of Chesapeake said in a tweet.

Residents in Chesapeake are not happy about the trash delays. Carrie Carroll, a Chesapeake resident, says it’s been more than a month since her bulk trash has been picked up. In the meantime, she's moved the pileup behind her house after she grew tired of having it in her front yard.

“Now I have a whole lot of trash behind my house. Neighbors think that it's dirty, and it’s not," Carroll said. "I’ve been trying to clean it up, but [trash pickup] hasn't come to pick up my barrel, so there is nothing I can do about it. It makes me feel dirty. Like, it makes me feel that my neighbors think I’m dirty. But it's not my fault."

The delay in trash has brought unwanted critters.

“It's caused roof rats, ants and a lot of stink bugs. My landlord says, 'You’re only renting, so we’re not going to pay for an exterminator.' So now not only did my rent double, but now I have to pay for an exterminator,” Carroll said.

Carroll says she’s reached out to the city to pick up her bulk trash and recently found out this week she has to request online or via phone for her bulk trash to be picked up.

“When I first moved in, the first year I was here, it was picked up. I’ve been here three years, and it's not regular now,” Carroll said.

Susan Borges, who also lives in Chesapeake, says it took the city two months to pick up her bulk trash. At times, she’s seen her neighbors trash get picked up, but not hers.

“Wednesday or Thursday, I heard the trash truck. Her [neighbor] pile was gone and mine's still here. I’m like, 'You were right here... why didn’t you take mine?' After it had laid here for a month, I called the city, and the lady said, 'We have your ticket' and to keep checking,” Borges said.

After a couple of months, she says it was finally picked up a couple of weeks ago.

“I just thought it was ridiculous to lay out here two months or better. And the grass was even growing up through it,” Borges said.

Residents of Chesapeake who spoke to News 3 say trash delays have become worse in recent months.

The City of Chesapeake’s Waste Management Department has experienced worker shortages for some time. The city is offering an incentive to attract more workers that includes a $2,000 sign-on bonus.