Waste Pro Says Labor Shortage To Blame For Flagler County Trash Pickup Problems

Bunnell, FL – Waste-Pro says that a shortage of willing and qualified labor, enhanced federal requirements, and more stringent review of CSA (compliance, safety, accountability) scores – as the reasons that Flagler County residents are not getting their trash picked up on a regular basis.  When Flagler County Administrator Jerry Cameron received complaints about trash pickup, he reached out to Waste Pro’s upper management and found out that the county’s contracted garbage collector is having difficulty finding laborers, as are many other local businesses. The result is off-schedule collections. “They have received zero applications for their advertised positions of ‘helper’ on the truck routes, and have had to resort to using temporary agencies,” Cameron said. “The temporary agencies are also unable to find sufficient staffing to meet the need, and in those instances that they are able to find temporary employees, it is at roughly a 50% increase in cost.” “We are navigating through unprecedented times surrounding staffing and like other industries, we are not immune to the nationwide driver shortage,” the company said in a written statement. “The demand for qualified drivers currently outpaces supply.” “In addition to a nationwide shortage of drivers, our local markets are also experiencing a shortage of willing and qualified labor. Unskilled laborers fill a position for Waste Pro called ‘helper’ – the second person that staffs our horticulture and bulk routes,” the company stated. “Recent and ongoing changes to unemployment benefits, combined with stimulus checks and other enhanced government assistance programs, makes it more attractive for many people to not work rather than to get up daily and work in a manually labor-intensive environment, such as ours.” Waste Pro has increased its efforts to attract and retain employees through additional advertising and job fairs, and retention and new driver referral bonuses. “As is the case with a multitude of industries across the country, private solid waste companies are struggling to find and keep employees,” Cameron said. “A general shortage of labor is certainly being felt in Flagler County.” You can find Waste Pro’s job listings in Flager County at recruiting.adp.com