Driver Shortage Forces City To Change Solid Waste Collection

BRADENTON, FL — The city of Bradenton has reorganized its solid waste collection schedule due to a CDL driver shortage, an issue plaguing the solid waste industry in many places across the country, the city said in a news release.

Garbage collection, the city’s primary priority, will continue on its normal schedule, but the shortage of drivers has made it difficult to consistently cover both yard waste and recycle collections every week, the city said.

As a temporary solution, the collection schedule will switch every other week between yard waste and recycling, the city said. Yard waste will be collected one week and recycling the following week, and the cycle will be repeated.

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Recycling will be picked up during the weeks July 26-30 and Aug. 9-13 and 23-27. Meanwhile, yard waste will be collected the weeks of Aug. 2-6 and 16-20. Pick-up will take place during these weeks on residents’ normal collection day.

This change allows Bradenton’s Solid Waste Division to consolidate its recycle and yard waste drivers into a single collection unit, minimizing the impact of the current driver shortage, the city said.

Officials hope that these necessary changes will be temporary as the city attempts to recruit and hire new drivers.