South Bay residents formed a line of cars Monday waiting to dump their trash at the Otay Landfill as a trash service strike stretched into its 11th day.
The landfill is being used as a dumpsite since about 300 trash collection employees represented by Teamsters Local 542 stopped working to show their dissatisfaction with their labor contract from Republic Services.
Trash service has been affected since Dec. 17.
Contract negotiations continued on Christmas Eve but an agreement was not reached, according to Republic Services, a waste collection company that primarily serves the city of Chula Vista, Bonita, Eastlake and some neighborhoods of San Diego County.
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“Republic Services is disappointed that the parties did not reach an agreement on a new labor contract during our Christmas Eve negotiations with the union. Republic will continue to negotiate in good faith for a fair and competitive contract so that we can resume waste and recycling collection in San Diego County and Chula Vista as soon as possible. We are doing everything within our power to resume normal service and continue to thank customers for their patience and understanding,” a statement from the company read.
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Some workers have described the new contract they were offered as “disrespectful” but did not go into details about what was offered. Republic Services also did not go into details about the negotiations, but in a statement said they respect the rights of their employees who want to participate in them.
Republic Services said residents impacted by the strike should follow the following recommendations to get rid of their trash:
- Take out the garbage on the assigned day of garbage collection
- Place excess trash in bags on the side of the trash bin
- If the bin is not picked up on the scheduled day, customers are asked to leave the bin on the sidewalk and it will be picked up "as soon as possible"
- During this time, yard waste, recycling and collection of large objects will be suspended
- Commercial garbage collection will be limited, giving priority to businesses affecting public health such as hospitals
NBC 7 spoke to some business owners in City Heights who are having to dump their trash because it's now become a health hazard.
“Fortunately, we do have a little bit of extra space in the back. We were able to kind of keep it going. Then we realized that this was going to go on a little longer than we thought so we resorted to being proactive and kind of taking it ourselves,” said Juan Sanchez of Super Cocina.
Chula Vista residents and businesses may take their trash to the Otay Landfill at 1700 Maxwell Rd, Chula Vista, 91911 during regular business hours. The city said residents will not be charged but must show proof of city residency. Businesses will need to identify as city businesses.
Trash has not been picked up in Chula Vista and South San Diego since Dec 17.
