Still need Charlotte yard waste removed? The city now knows when it can finish the job
The city of Charlotte expects to complete a system-wide yard-waste pickup by the end of the day Friday.
That will be welcome news to neighborhoods all over Charlotte that have been waiting for relief during the novel coronavirus crisis, which had halted regular pick-up.
A city-wide sweep for yard waste started the last week of April. The city asked that yard waste be left at curbs throughout that span, saying repeatedly it wasn’t possible to provide a neighborhood-by-neighborhood schedule for pickup.
The city was about 60% completed heading into Monday’s pickup, according to Brandi Williams with the solid waste department. In an email to the Observer, Williams said the city most recently made pickups in south Charlotte, which typically generates the most yard waste.
“It took us much longer to collect yard waste because of the volume on those days,” Williams said.
The city suspended weekly yard-waste pickup at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, largely to acquire personal protective gear for crews. Having to go about a month without this service, combined with several severe storms, created a heavy volume of yard debris.
The city maintained weekly pickup of garbage and recycling during the statewide stay-at-home order. When yard-waste crews were redeployed, they were sent out with protective gear and instructed to maintain social-distancing while working.
The high volume of yard waste — about three times a normal weekly collection — slowed crews’ progress.
The solid-waste schedule reflected the normal weekly pickup — Monday neighborhoods first, followed by Tuesday and Wednesday neighborhoods. The crews started Thursday neighborhoods on Monday. Williams said the department hopes to finish Friday neighborhoods by the end of this week.
The city did not provide details on what neighborhoods are on Thursday and Friday pickup schedules.
What comes next
Next week, the city will retrofit yard-waste trucks with sneeze guards as an additional protection for workers.
The goal is to have that completed in time to resume weekly yard-waste pickups starting June 1. Williams cautioned that June pickups might be slowed again by catching up to additional high volume.
The city also provides updates on waste pickup and other services in a newsletter and text service.
This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 7:59 AM.
