Landfill closures, dangerous routes prove hurdles for Harvey trash collection

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Among Harvey’s devastation, Texas trash pickup services are working to help consumers put their lives back together.

Undoubtedly fielding customer service calls left and right, services are taking to social media are working to keep consumers updated and explain what problems they’re facing.

Texas Disposal Systems of Austin say they’re trying as hard as they can to complete routes in bad weather, but first and foremost – they don’t want to risk the safety of their employees.

They say they’re taking the situation day-by-day. Aside from the dangers to employees, landfills tend to close in adverse conditions.

“When local landfills are closed due to flooding or other issues, we have nowhere in some regions for our trucks to safely empty,” TDS wrote in a Facebook post. “Several landfills in the southeast region of Texas have been closed due to Harvey, and because of that, we are limited in the amount of waste we can collect.”

Suspending operations Thursday and Monday, WCA Waste Corporation says their drivers’ ability to even get to work prove to be an issue.

“We are unable to post the areas we will be picking up because we do not know until we see what drivers can return to work due to evacuations and their own personal tragedies from the storm” they wrote.

 

Some waste removal companies, such as Texas Pride Disposal, have stated at this time, they’re not picking up flood debris. They’ve asked consumers not to mix flood debris with regular household waste.

“We are working with our MUD’s and HOA’s where cleanup is desired before county and disaster crews begin cleanup,” they wrote.