Dive Brief:
- In the Metro-Nashville area thousands of residents have been reporting missed or delayed curbside pick-ups and complaining to the regional government agency, as reported by WKRN.
- Red River Waste Solutions has the collection contract for 96,000 homes in this area and estimates that less than 10% of those accounts have been experiencing service issues. The company attributed delays to higher holiday volumes and winter weather over the past three weeks.
- The company said it has increased staffing levels, brought in more equipment and been working until 10 p.m. as well as on weekends.
Dive Insight:
Service delays do happen, but multiple residents reported being especially confused because their neighbors' waste was picked up but not their own. Red River apparently was caught off guard by the annual increase in holiday volumes and not prepared for snow.
Last summer, notable collection issues occurred in a variety of states. Advanced Disposal was fined $32,000 by one South Carolina town for ongoing problems. Driver shortages caused issues for Waste Corporation of America in Kansas City, MO and Waste Management subsidiary Deffenbaugh Industries in Kansas.
Red River hasn't reported driver shortage issues, though that could be a factor as the challenge has been affecting companies throughout the industry. The Texas-based company acquired a Tennessee competitor last fall and is now the largest company in Davidson County, which contains Nashville. The company continues to advertise its interest in acquiring companies with revenues up to $10 million in a more public way than many others through a page on its website.
