COVID-19 impact: No recycling pickup in Bloomington for week starting Sept. 27
Recycling pickup by the city of Bloomington will be canceled for the week starting Monday, Sept. 27 according to a news release issued by the city on Sunday afternoon.
The reason for the interruption in service, which will last at least a week, according to the news release, is a shortage of sanitation workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the news release, the city’s currently available sanitation workforce is less than half the number needed for normal operations.
After last Thursday’s report of city workforce COVID-19 cases, the sanitation division reported three more positive COVID-19 cases and six additional potential exposures, according to the news release.
Cancellation of recycling pickup services for at least a week is a tradeoff the city is making, in order to maintain regular trash pickup. According to the news release, “[R]ecycling pickup will be paused for at least this week, to allow the on-duty crew members to operate regular solid waste/trash pickup.”
It’s not clear when recycling picking will resume. According to the news release, “Decisions on when recycling services will resume will be made as these staffing impacts are further clarified.”
The news release asks households not to set out their recycling carts at the curb this week. The news release suggests either storing recyclables until the regular curb-side pick up resumes, or taking recyclables to one of the Monroe County Recycle Centers.
