Roanoke has temporarily delayed recycling services due to a shortage of drivers.
The city is dealing with understaffing in many of its departments. In public works, the city already had a shortage of full-time drivers and a lack of temporary drivers to fill in. And Roanoke’s extreme winter weather is having an effect on drivers’ willingness to take overtime pay now.
Due to multiple snowstorms that required extensive work to clean up in February, there is a decline in the number of drivers who are willing and able to work additional hours, Roanoke’s communications team said in an email.
The city says it hopes to resume regular recycling collection by Monday. In the meantime, crews are working Fridays and Saturdays, and “staffing augmentation” efforts are underway.
The city is also working to hire temporary drivers, and accelerated hiring is in progress for full-time positions. The solid waste team shortage currently includes four full-time vacancies and three to five daily absences, the city said in an email. The city did not answer a question about how many drivers the department should have in total.
The city also says it’s developing drop-off sites throughout the city. For now, residents can drop their recycling off at the Tinker Creek Transfer Station, 1020 Hollins Road, Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
