Winter weather impacts local trash collection
WARREN COUNTY, Ky. – Before the winter storm hit, countless residents took to the grocery store to prepare for the worst.
Quickly, that trash has begun to pile up, but trash collection services are now facing problems. The roads all over Warren County, especially the rural roads, have been covered in inches think of ice. This has created travel problems for trash collectors as the trucks struggle to drive on thick ice and can pose a danger on the road to other travelers.
Some places like hospitals, senior care centers and other essential businesses have been able to have their trash collected. But residential areas may still have to wait a little while longer.
“This has impacted all the waste haulers that we have throughout Warren County. Residents are not able to get their garbage picked up because we’ve got at least a 2-inch layer of ice. And for the safety of the companies that have to pick it up, their employees and our citizens, they’re just not been able to get on these roads,” said Lawrence White, coordinator for the Warren County Division of Environmental Planning.
However, it’s not just the trash collection crews that are running into problems. Those at collection facilities and landfills are also having problems with ice, which creates a back log and limits the amount of trash that can be picked up.
“Most garbage in Bowling Green and Warren cans picked up, it travels from Bowling Green, a minimum of 55 miles to the final destination, which is a landfill. So we utilize two or three transfer stations in this area, which they’ve been closed because icy conditions. Larger trucks, and tractor trailer trucks that transport that from the trucks that pick up so those issues have been things that waste have had to deal with also,” White said.
White asks residents to be patient as the crews try to work their way to residents. White also says that the crews will handle excess trash that may have pilled up, just be sure to put it in a bag. If you have any questions, White says you should call your trash service provider.
