LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Trash collection problems have been ongoing for weeks across Lancaster County.
Eagle Disposal, the company contracted to service several of the county's communities, is facing staffing shortages which, over the past month, has halted trash and recycling pickup at some homes for weeks at a time.
Residents who use Eagle Disposal say the uncertainty of the vital service is taking its toll.
"It is really wearing on because in this kind of weather, it doesn’t take very long for maggots to appear in your trash," said Joe Manganello, an Ephrata Township resident. "Every time I would hear a truck out here I would look out to see if maybe they were coming. It’s just an everyday thing that works on you and you live with it as best you can.”
Lancaster County townships that are contracted with Eagle Disposal say if the problems persist, they may be forced to look elsewhere for their trash services.
"It's concerning. Trash is one of those things that people will see when driving through the municipality. It does not bode well for the municipality to look like that," said West Earl Township Manager Jenna Seesholtz. "Certainly, we want to make sure that the trash is picked up in a certain amount of time, but if they are not willing to provide those services then we really have to start looking other directions for pickup."
Eagle Disposal released the following statement:
"We wanted to take a moment to sincerely apologize for the recent service delays that you may have experienced. We understand how frustrating it can be and we want to assure you that we are taking immediate steps to resolve this situation and satisfy our customers.
Due to a shortage of employees, we have fallen behind on some of our collections. We are working tirelessly to hire new employees and restructure our operations to get back on track as soon as possible."
The company says it is also giving out refunds proactively to customers whose trash has not been picked up within 72 hours of their typical pickup day.