Driver shortage forces Chatham County trash, recycling centers to close

A shortage of drivers with commercial driver's licenses forced leaders in Chatham County to close more than half of the county's trash and recycling centers.

People normally have 12 sites to choose from, but now, just five locations are open:

Al Baraja lives just down the road from one of Chatham County’s 12 collection centers. However, that site was one of the seven centers that were temporarily closed.

Chatham County quality director Kevin Lindley said the county typically has five drivers picking up trash, but right now, they only have one.

Lindley said there was a shortage of CDL drivers several years before the coronavirus pandemic, but the pandemic exacerbated the shortage.

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"More people were ordering things from home [meaning] more demand for drivers,” Lindley said.

Now, the shortage means that people who take their trash to seven of Chatham County's centers will have to drive farther.

The five centers still open will also be even busier.

Barja said he tries to avoid the highway because of all the trash that could fall off.

“All the centers that are staying open have compactors for each of the categories for trash. So, they can hold a lot more trash before they have to be pulled,” Lindley said.

Lindley added that driver interviews are underway, but it is a process, along with training that comes after a driver is hired.

He said it may several weeks before they can reopen some of the trash and recycling centers again.