M
Editor’s Note
Labor shortages reach waste industry Sarah Wright | Editor
W
aste is a fact of life. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website, the total generation of municipal solid waste in 2018 alone was 292.4 million tons or 4.9 pounds per person per day. It adds, “Of the MSW generated, approximately 69 million tons were recycled and 25 million tons were composted.” With so much waste comes the challenge of managing its disposal, treading the fine line between customer service and economics. Labor has become an additional factor of late. Since the pandemic, labor shortages have spread across several industries, help wanted signs being displayed quite predominately along the roadside. Municipalities and the waste industry aren’t immune. Dallas, Texas, experienced delays in its recycling pickups as it prioritizes garbage collections. In a June 30, 2021, article titled “Labor Shortage Hits Dallas Trash Collection, City Says,” D Magazine reported the city was looking to increase pay for laborers to stabilize staffing levels. The city currently uses a temporary staffing agency for many of its workers and pays them $12.38 an hour, but a new contract, which will go into effect in August, would increase that rate to $15.21 an hour. In addition to pay increases, some cities are weighing the
8 THE MUNICIPAL | AUGUST 2021
switch to automated trash pickups for labor issues, economic reasons and to provide better service to residents. Writer Denise Fedorow spoke with two municipalities in various stages of making the switch. Cleveland Heights, Ohio’s, fleet of garbage trucks needed replacement, which opened the way for the city to examine available options. Fedorow details the city’s process that led to automated pickup. She also shares Bangor, Maine’s, experience of starting automated garbage pickups last year. As in Dallas, municipal recycling programs across the U.S. have been adversely impacted by changes abroad, the pandemic and staffing levels. In some cases, the rising costs of recycling have seen communities shelve their programs. Starkville, Miss., discontinued its curbside recycling pickup in March 2020 for a single drop-off site — before suspending that too when it became no longer economically feasible. Writer Janet Patterson spoke with Starkville about its experiences and its search for a new plan to bring recycling back to its residents. In the North, Eagan, Minn., seeks to encourage a behavioral change in its residents by removing trashcans from its smaller parks.
The Pack In, Pack Out program was met with some doubts, but people are warming up to it. Writer Julie Young shares more about this program and how it is aiding the city with costs and labor. Other waste and recycling topics in this issue include Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business’s partnerships to examine different aspects of the industry, such as designs for the garbage truck of the future. Additionally, The Municipal will be sharing Yerington, Nev.’s, massive wastewater project. While efforts toward zero waste are being made in some communities, there is still a long way to go, if it is even possible. Meanwhile, cities will continue to examine avenues available to them to provide reliable service to constituents while keeping costs down.
