ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Residents in an Orange County neighborhood in Apopka said the new trash pickup system forced them to live with a huge mess.
Orange County started a new automated trash pickup service 20 days ago that brings trash collections down to once a week, but some residents hadn’t had their trash picked up since late December.
When Channel 9 started asking questions to leaders Wednesday, the trash was picked up the same evening, even for residents who have not been given the new required bins.
The county wouldn’t say which neighborhoods still need service, or if and when the new bins will be delivered to the people who haven’t gotten them yet.
A county representative said the bins were delivered last month, but the delivery driver missed a home because he thought the property was vacant.
There is no date set on when everyone will have their bins.
“We've still got Christmas wrapping in one of the bags. It’s all there,” resident Victoria Sherman said.
Sherman and some of her neighbors took turns calling the county, and documented the calls and emails.
“Each time I've called, they've said we'll contact waste management and someone from waste management will contact you,” resident Peggy Brannock said. “They have yet to contact me.”
Brannock’s son, Paul Brannock, said he’s relieved he no longer has a pile of garbage outside his Apopka home near Orange Blossom Trail and Yothers Road.
“Right after Christmas was the last time they came out and picked up the trash,” said Paul Brannock.
The county wouldn’t specify how many homes still needed trash collected, but they did say earlier Wednesday the gap was closing.
Channel 9’s Ty Russell took the residents’ concerns to the commissioner who represents the district.
“They still don’t have their garbage cans, and county commissioners and leaders all have their garbage cans, so why don’t they have theirs?” Russell asked Commissioner Bryan Nelson.
“Advanced Waste doesn’t know where I live, so they just put my cans with everybody else’s in the neighborhood, but yeah, there’s no excuse for that,” Nelson said.
Nelson said he got his new bin in November.
“(The county) guaranteed me it would be picked up last night, or no later than the next day. That was eight days ago,” Sherman said earlier Wednesday, before the trash was picked up.
The county did say improper placement of the bins added to the slowdown.
Residents were upset that their trash was more than just an eyesore, it was bear bait too.
Peggy Brannock said she invested in a special bin to keep bears away, but it won’t do her any good if trash haulers don’t get her garbage in a timely manner.
“We're piling it up. We told them we're piling it up and they said to make sure it’s all out there,” Sherman said. “So we've made sure it’s all out there.”
WFTV
