Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego's Christmas trash piles up after Republic Services strike

Some fill up gas station dumpsters, others try Mission Bay

San Carlos apartment building
San Carlos apartment building

A week or so after Christmas Eve parties and two days after New Year's Eve, piles of trash sitting in and around Republic Services dumpsters and trash bins throughout our county have yet to be hauled off.

"Residents are fortunate it is winter," Allied Gardens local Al Aliment said. "Imagine how this would smell in the summer with flies everywhere — and more rats. In the meantime, the rain and rats will combine to make the perfect trash storm."

On December 19, Republic Services posted on their social media that "some services have been temporarily delayed due to an unanticipated work stoppage." Before that Sunday, 250-plus Republic Services employees in Chula Vista and San Diego reportedly walked out over a labor dispute. Together with Teamsters Local 542, they proceeded to strike, requesting an increase in wages, better refuse trucks, and a safer work environment. As this article goes to print, the sanitation employees and the teamsters have not reached an agreement with the private garbage hauler company.

Lincoln Ave. bridge

Army veteran Aliment continued: "Even when the strike ends, Republic trucks will not dump the bins until all the surrounding trash is removed. Then, it's up to property management to clear the area. The driver is not allowed to remove it due to job safety concerns."

Sponsored
Sponsored

On December 3, John Taylor from North Park texted me photos of a blue-colored Republic Services dumpster with filled-up trash bags sitting outside of it. "That's behind my building, and it's been like that since before Christmas," he said to me. "Our building doesn't generate that much trash."

Word on the street is that before Christmas, county dwellers discreetly dumped trash into their neighbors' trash and recycle canisters; then when those were full, residents scrambled into the alleys behind multi-dweller units and businesses' in hopes to find non-locked metal dumpsters. "It's like we're playing 'pass the trash,'" said Michael, Taylor's former neighbor. "After Christmas, we drove to Mission Bay because they have big trashcans and dumpsters there. My other buddies went to gas stations, put in like five bucks worth of gas, then dumped their trash bags in the trashcans by the pumps. Hey, they're paying customers, right?

"I bet, with all of this trash piling up, nay-saying people are now liking the idea of composting their food waste which will probably lead to fewer trash bags and stench."

A San Carlos man who requested anonymity smelled rotten food in his apartment complex's parking garage on January 3, as he direct messaged me photos of what appears to be a six-foot-tall wall of trash. "The trash has been there for two weeks, since before Christmas," he explained. "It's blocking stairways and entrances."

The pile of trash appeared to be blocking some of the elevator's entranceway and part of the yellow-colored tactile paving used to guide blind tenants and visitors.

"As much as a lot of people pay to rent here, you'd think the complex would be more diligent in working on this matter," continued the San Carlos tenant, "as well as keep stairways cleared as they said they would, but have not."

Other San Diegans dumped trash in the Mid-City canyons and in plain sight atop the Lincoln Avenue bridge, which crosses over the 805 in North Park. "I have reported this trash and RV vehicles on these bridges to the city's Get It Done app numerous times," Taylor said to me. "I have had callbacks from the police saying there is nothing they can do about the polluters. There was a Christmas tree and jacuzzi left out there too."

On January 3, locals on social media stated that Republic Services is picking up trash at certain single-family homes, but not apartments or businesses. "Our trash got picked up yesterday," posted Chad, a Chula Vistan. "The [Republic Services] driver was flown in from North Carolina and stated they 'didn't have much of a choice about coming here, but most of the drivers always wanted to see San Diego.'"

"As of Monday, January 3, and until further notice, free trash and recycling disposal for self-hauling is available at Otay and Sycamore Landfills for Republic residential and commercial service customers in Chula Vista, San Diego, and in unincorporated areas of San Diego County," updated the Republic Services' website. "Customers will be asked to present their Republic account invoice at the landfill for disposal alongside regular landfill customers. Chula Vista landfill passes are not necessary."

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Yellowtail show off La Jolla, Big tuna south

Spiny lobster doing well
San Carlos apartment building
San Carlos apartment building

A week or so after Christmas Eve parties and two days after New Year's Eve, piles of trash sitting in and around Republic Services dumpsters and trash bins throughout our county have yet to be hauled off.

"Residents are fortunate it is winter," Allied Gardens local Al Aliment said. "Imagine how this would smell in the summer with flies everywhere — and more rats. In the meantime, the rain and rats will combine to make the perfect trash storm."

On December 19, Republic Services posted on their social media that "some services have been temporarily delayed due to an unanticipated work stoppage." Before that Sunday, 250-plus Republic Services employees in Chula Vista and San Diego reportedly walked out over a labor dispute. Together with Teamsters Local 542, they proceeded to strike, requesting an increase in wages, better refuse trucks, and a safer work environment. As this article goes to print, the sanitation employees and the teamsters have not reached an agreement with the private garbage hauler company.

Lincoln Ave. bridge

Army veteran Aliment continued: "Even when the strike ends, Republic trucks will not dump the bins until all the surrounding trash is removed. Then, it's up to property management to clear the area. The driver is not allowed to remove it due to job safety concerns."

Sponsored
Sponsored

On December 3, John Taylor from North Park texted me photos of a blue-colored Republic Services dumpster with filled-up trash bags sitting outside of it. "That's behind my building, and it's been like that since before Christmas," he said to me. "Our building doesn't generate that much trash."

Word on the street is that before Christmas, county dwellers discreetly dumped trash into their neighbors' trash and recycle canisters; then when those were full, residents scrambled into the alleys behind multi-dweller units and businesses' in hopes to find non-locked metal dumpsters. "It's like we're playing 'pass the trash,'" said Michael, Taylor's former neighbor. "After Christmas, we drove to Mission Bay because they have big trashcans and dumpsters there. My other buddies went to gas stations, put in like five bucks worth of gas, then dumped their trash bags in the trashcans by the pumps. Hey, they're paying customers, right?

"I bet, with all of this trash piling up, nay-saying people are now liking the idea of composting their food waste which will probably lead to fewer trash bags and stench."

A San Carlos man who requested anonymity smelled rotten food in his apartment complex's parking garage on January 3, as he direct messaged me photos of what appears to be a six-foot-tall wall of trash. "The trash has been there for two weeks, since before Christmas," he explained. "It's blocking stairways and entrances."

The pile of trash appeared to be blocking some of the elevator's entranceway and part of the yellow-colored tactile paving used to guide blind tenants and visitors.

"As much as a lot of people pay to rent here, you'd think the complex would be more diligent in working on this matter," continued the San Carlos tenant, "as well as keep stairways cleared as they said they would, but have not."

Other San Diegans dumped trash in the Mid-City canyons and in plain sight atop the Lincoln Avenue bridge, which crosses over the 805 in North Park. "I have reported this trash and RV vehicles on these bridges to the city's Get It Done app numerous times," Taylor said to me. "I have had callbacks from the police saying there is nothing they can do about the polluters. There was a Christmas tree and jacuzzi left out there too."

On January 3, locals on social media stated that Republic Services is picking up trash at certain single-family homes, but not apartments or businesses. "Our trash got picked up yesterday," posted Chad, a Chula Vistan. "The [Republic Services] driver was flown in from North Carolina and stated they 'didn't have much of a choice about coming here, but most of the drivers always wanted to see San Diego.'"

"As of Monday, January 3, and until further notice, free trash and recycling disposal for self-hauling is available at Otay and Sycamore Landfills for Republic residential and commercial service customers in Chula Vista, San Diego, and in unincorporated areas of San Diego County," updated the Republic Services' website. "Customers will be asked to present their Republic account invoice at the landfill for disposal alongside regular landfill customers. Chula Vista landfill passes are not necessary."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

"Christmas Berry" is decorating our landscape, Longest meteor shower of the year

Full "cold moon," extremely high tides
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Bob Long played piano for Tina Turner and Ray Charles

And he got the crowd shaking at InZane Brewery
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader