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Nashvillians fed up with delay in trash pickup

Nashville full trash cans
Posted at 7:04 PM, Jul 27, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-27 21:33:51-04

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Residents in Nashville are upset with the major delays in their trash pickup, some saying it's even starting to smell.

On Waters View Drive in Antioch, Kelsey Rivera has been waiting for days to have her trash hauled away.

"Normal garbage day is on Friday but sometimes now it's Saturdays, Sundays, even Mondays or sometimes not until Wednesdays of the following week," said Rivera, "It's a problem because we don't know where to put the trash."

And as the trash piles up residents including councilwoman Tanaka Vercher are getting fed up.

"I was driving around to see if trash had been collected- and to my dismay, trash still hasn’t been collected," said Council Member of District 28 Tanaka Vercher. "We’ve been over accommodating, beyond patient and very nice towards this particular vendor."

It's an issue, also happening in Donelson. District 15 is represented by Council Member Jeff Syracuse.

Syracuse has taken action, filing a resolution to put pressure on Red River. Red River is the company contracted by Metro public works to pick up the trash.

"They've been a good contractor since 2004 but started to run into issues about three or four years ago," Syracuse explains.

Syracuse said with the fast growth of the city and this coronavirus pandemic, the company may be spread thin but this is unacceptable.

"I am hopeful that there are some agreed-upon operational changes that can occur to give us short term and some long term solutions."

We reached out to Metro Public works and spokesperson Cortnye Stone sent us this statement:

“Metro Public Works is aware of our contractor, Red River Waste Solutions’, ongoing performance issues related to missed trash pick-ups. We are working closely with them to effectively remedy these issues and are currently in negotiations to ensure contract obligations are met. We know this situation is incredibly frustrating for residents, and providing high-quality neighborhood services is the number one goal of the department."

Metro Public Works has contracted the company since 2004, currently paying them about $7 million.

Metro Public Works encourages all residents with a missed trash pick up to report the issue by calling 311, visiting hub.nashville.gov, or downloading the HubNashville app.