Landfill To Close On Sundays In Prince William County Due To Labor Shortage

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA — Prince William County's landfill and compost facilities will begin closing on Sundays next month, county officials said.

In a news release, the county said the decision was caused by a lack of employees. "Despite the department’s efforts to recruit and reassign employees, they do not have sufficient staff to safely operate the Landfill and Balls Ford Road Compost Facility for the current 78 hours per week," Prince William County officials said in a news release.

Officials decided not to open on Sundays because it is the one day that commercial entities do not visit the landfill. Instead, landfill employees will perform preventative maintenance.

"The Solid Waste Division has a vacancy rate that has remained steady at around 20 percent and has continued to operate short-staffed in critical facility positions for well over a year, despite multiple recruitments and numerous job offers,” Department of Public Works Director Thomas Smith said in a news release. "Public- and private-sector demand in the region for heavy equipment operators and CDL drivers has outpaced available workers since the start of the pandemic."

The landfill sees fewer than 1,300 residents on Sundays. The landfill will still be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

More information about the landfill is available online.