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Spring homeowners frustrated as trash piles up due to pandemic, labor shortage

Spring – Customers complain Rosenberg-based trash and disposal company’s service has been consistently inconsistent.

Texas Pride Disposal crews have been working to catch up on routes they could not get to on time. Some customers like the Michelle Gawlik of Spring said lately Texas Pride Disposal’s service has stunk. Gawlik said trash bins filled with bags have lined her neighborhood for days, in the heat and rain.

“It’s been hot, it’s been stinky,” Gawlik said. “And we’re worried about what we’re going to do with the trash. If we are going to have to haul it ourselves.”

She said trash pickup has been delayed in the past several times before, but for one or two days, never a whole week. Gawlik said she called the company twice to send a truck, but none ever came. She also said Texas Pride Disposal also eliminated recycling pick-up in her subdivision during the month of June.

As a result of the unreliable service, Gawlik said her neighborhood’s MUD district has planned to kick the Texas Pride Disposal to the curb in two months.

“They’ve (the MUD district) been working really hard to try to rectify the situation,” Gawlik said. " It’s because of the inconsistencies that they mentioned they were switching trash companies.”

Kevin Atkinson owns Texas Pride Disposal. He said his business was impacted by the pandemic and labor shortages. He said simultaneously, his company has had to deal with a higher volume of trash and recyclables.

“There’s always a concern when we can’t operate as efficiently and effectively as we would like to be,” Atkinson said. “Labor shortages are a real issue affecting us. Not just isolated to garbage collection but restaurants, automobiles.”

Atkinson said he added nine new drivers last week to his staff of more than 100. He said offering a $2,000 hiring bonus has worked to his advantage and he hopes he can add five to 10 additional drivers in the near future. He said it will help prevent some of the past trash and recycling delays.

“We’ve got more routes covered today than we have in it feels like weeks, months. We are in good shape today. We have everything covered,” he said.

Gawlik said she was happy to see the trash pickup truck roll through her neighborhood Monday morning. She said she hopes service will become more consistent until the new disposal company takes over in August.

“I’m sure that they do have their challenges,” she said. I hope they can get them resolved and my hope is that they do well.”

If you’d like to apply for a job with Texas Pride Disposal, click here https://www.texaspridedisposal.com/employment-opportunities.html


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