Waste Pro

Waste Pro in for the Long Haul

By: Jarret Romanello info@stluciepost.com

(FORT PIERCE, Fl) Waste Pro is working to keep St. Lucie County customers happy, despite increased demands for service and a reduced workforce causing an industry-wide interruption in waste disposal.

Since 2004, Waste Pro has delivered timely service to St. Lucie County, but recent complications have impacted services, causing trash and complaints to pile up. “We didn’t forget how to pick up garbage; the conditions are unlike anything I’ve seen in twenty years,” said Waste Pro Southeast Region Vice-President Russell Mackie.

Ravon Simmons and Quincy Batts work overtime to get your trash picked up in St. The coronavirus pandemic created Lucie County. a perfect storm for nationwide interruptions in the waste industry. Companies like Waste Management, Republic, and Waste Pro are trying to do more with fewer workers in a changing world. “We are picking up 20% more garbage with 20%

fewer workers,” Mackie told The St. Lucie Post.

Unemployment benefits, stimulus payments, and advance payments of child tax credits keep workers home, and employers busy hanging help wanted signs in their windows. And with more people working from home, there is more garbage at the curbside. “It’s challenging to find someone to get on the back

of a truck in 100°F heat to collect 40,000 lbs. of waste six days a week,” Mackie told The St. Lucie Post.

To find new workers, Waste Pro is holding job fairs, increasing salaries, initiating retention bonuses, and recruiting individuals with industry experience from across the country. With national freight lines competing for experienced CDL operators, Mackie hopes to find drivers who want to stay close to home. “Drivers always gravitate to the waste industry because it’s a job that you can work in your community and be home at night,” Mackie told The St. Lucie Post.