Complaints About Missed Garbage Pick-Ups Pile Up

When the city switched last month to a quadrant-based system for trash, recycling and bulk item collection, the move was designed to make the Atlanta Department of Public Works more efficient.

But the change, now in its fifth week, hasn't gone entirely smoothly.

In recent weeks at several community group meetings, East Atlanta Patch residents in East Atlanta Village, Ormewood Park and Inman Park have complained their trash isn't being collected.

In some cases, homeowners say their bins have been missed for a couple of weeks.

Dexter C White, deputy commissioner of the public works department, told East Atlanta Patch that while there have been some issues they are being addressed and resolved.

The main problem has been that 60 percent of the department's garbage drivers are new to routes they now have under the quadrant system, White said. Three-quarters of the city has been rerouted and drivers have to learn their new routes, he said.

"We've seen issues over all four quadrants, none more particular than another," White said. "Anytime you make a wholesale change like this, you're definitely going to have some issues."

Another related factor is that pick-up times have shifted, so some neighborhoods may be getting serviced earlier than they had been prior to last month's change, he said.

Some residents who've called the customer service number — 404.330.6333 — to report issues have said their entire street was missed.

And while that might have been true in a some isolated cases, White said reviews show those streets weren't missed entirely. The individually complaining residents' trash was likely missed because they didn't put their trash curbside in time, he said.

Some delays stem from malfuntioning equipment, said Valerie Bell-Smith, a public works department spokeswoman.

"As we continue to replace older equipment and drivers become more familiar with the new routing structure, service delays should improve," Bell-Smith said. "Per our standard operating procedures, delayed pick-ups are serviced within 24 to 48 hours."

Here is the weekly garbage collection schedule and boundaries of each:

• Northeast Atlanta - Mondays North: City Limits, East: City Limits, South: Decatur Street/DeKalb Avenue, West: Northside Drive
• Southeast Atlanta - Tuesdays North: Decatur Street/DeKalb Avenue, East: City Limits, South: City Limits, West: Metropolitan Parkway/City Limits
• Southwest Atlanta - Wednesdays North: I-20 West, East: Metropolitan Parkway, South: City Limits, West: City Limits,
• Northwest Atlanta - Thursdays North: City Limits, East: Northside Drive, South: I-20 West, West: City Limits

Big bulk items, such as furniture, mattresses and other large junk is as follows:

• Northeast Atlanta – 1st Monday of the 1st week of each month
• Southeast Atlanta – 2nd Monday of the 2nd week of each month
• Southwest Atlanta – 3rd Monday of the 3rd week of each month
• Northwest Atlanta – 4th Monday of the 4th week of each month

The department's changes also includes regular street sweeping, White said.

That will require a huge community awareness campaign to get the word out, he said.

To do that, the department is posting "no parking" signs on streets and placards on trees, White said.

Motorists who park on the streets will be given 72 hours' notice to move their vehicles.

For now, they won't be towed, White said.

"This is a learning process for citizens. We're going to be patient with the citizens who have been patient with us," White said. "There will be a phase where we'll be issuing warnings and then there will be a phase where we'll be issuing tickets and then they'll get towed.

"But we're far away from that."