Garbage volumes soar during pandemic, causing problems for sanitation drivers

An impact of the stay-at-home order you might’ve not considered — people are generating a lot more garbage.

Plus, it means cars that people normally drive to work are now parked, blocking trash bins.

It’s adding all kinds of challenges for Waste Management drivers, making an already-tough job even more difficult.

On Friday — trash day for the Green Lake neighborhood in Seattle — it was easy to find bins overflowing.

“People staying at home are producing a lot more (garbage),” said Gary Chittim, a spokesperson for Waste Management. “It started almost immediately after the stay-at-home orders went out, and we kind of anticipated it. But it was a volume that went beyond anticipation."

Waste Management officials didn’t have specific statistics on the increased volume but said garbage, yard waste, and recycling were all up across the board.

The stay-at-home order means people are working on household projects like such as reorganizing and gardening. People are also relying on online shopping, which results in an uptick in recycling, too.

“It’s a really difficult situation,” Chittim said.

Extra recycling gets picked up for free, but some people are putting those overflows into plastic bags. Chittim says that’s a problem because drivers do not open the bags to check if the content is recycling, and it will all go to the dump.

“That’s a big no-no and it causes big problems all the way down the line,” he said.

Another issue is people who normally drive to work now have their cars lining narrow Seattle streets, often blocking bins.

“So they have to go around several cars to get it, retrieve it and come back around. It’s a big challenge,” Chittim said.

Waste Management says it knows parking can be tight and sometimes there is no option but ask you to try and keep bins 3 feet away from vehicles.

Plus, right now pickup of “bulky trash‚" including couches and TVs, are suspended because that’s a two-person job and both have to be in one vehicle.

So instead, people are hauling their own large waste to transfer stations.

“That’s causing really large long lines at some of the landfills, and our trucks are unable to get in as quickly as normal,” Chittim said.

Those challenges all add to the stress of performing an essential job during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Gotta find a way to get it done,” Chittim said.

According to Waste Management, coronavirus transmission through trash is not so much of a concern because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said it’s not a pathway. However, they’re still being extra careful, providing drivers with extra gloves, masks and disinfectants.

Chittim says takeaways are:

• Extra recycling will be picked up for free, but must be paper bags or cardboard boxes (no plastic bags) and must be dry.
• Extra household waste can be put in plastic bags next to your garbage bin, and there will be a charge.
• Bulky waste is not being picked up right now. Hold off on taking it to the transfer station if possible because long lines are delaying drivers.
• Keep all bins 3 feet away from vehicles if possible.
• Keep lids of bins facing the road.

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