NORTH NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — People in Nashville probably remember the major delays in their trash getting picked up during the pandemic.
There were thousands of complaints.
From the end of 2021 into early 2022, trash pickup was so delayed around the city Mayor John Cooper got involved.
"These delays are frustrating," said Mayor John Cooper. "I'm upset about it, and I know you are too."
At the peak, there were roughly 6,000 misses and complaints back in February 2022. The number of complaints and misses now averages a little below 1,000 a month.
In North Nashville, Eden Street residents say their alley is a bit of a wasteland. They set their trash there because it's behind their houses next to the Pearl Cohn High School campus.
Recently, trash didn't get picked up for three weeks.
Devereux Collins lives in the neighborhood. He said generally speaking, it seems things are moving more smoothly than during the pandemic. But people are still having issues with their trash pickup every month.
"Sometimes I go to some of my neighbors, ask them if I can use their trash can, use a little bit of theirs, or I have to take it to get it disposed of at the dump myself," said Devereux Collins.
The city signed has new contracts since the huge delays 18 months ago. A spokesperson for Metro Water Services said trash collection has improved drastically because of that.
Below is a chart reflecting the total monthly misses and complaints reported to Hub Nashville or 311 since Waste Services moved to Metro Water Services in July 2021.
Around February 2022, there was a shift. Many routes covered by Red River Waste Solutions, the city's longtime trash collector, were taken away and given to other companies.
After that, Collins began to notice some improvement but believes trash pickup and other city services like street sweeping could be a lot more consistent.
"I think they've been getting a lot of turnover, new people on. I give them the benefit of the doubt, and so I'm thinking maybe this new guy doesn't really know how it works out, how it's supposed to be done," Collins said.
Metro Water Services says crews make every attempt to collect trash on time. However, weather, mechanical difficulties, employee error, or failure of the cart to be placed at the curb sometimes lead to trash collection being missed.
