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Mesquite residents will have to keep waiting for curbside recycling amid household trash glut

People stuck at home during the pandemic are throwing away so much trash that the city's sanitation workers have had to stop picking up recyclables.

Mesquite residents eager for the resumption of the city’s curbside recycling service will have to keep waiting, officials announced Thursday.

Continuation of the service, paused near the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, had already been pushed back once this summer and was set to resume Monday. But it has again been delayed, this time indefinitely.

“We know that this has been frustrating to our customers, but we really appreciate their patience and understanding as we have continued to see a significant rise in household waste due in part to people staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic,” City Manager Cliff Keheley said in a news release. “The city typically loads about 150 garbage trucks weekly. During COVID-19, it has increased to about 176 loads per week. In addition, we are running about 19 truckloads of yard waste each week.”

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The city says it has “seen a monthly average of a 22% increase in the tonnage of garbage collection” from March to July. It is also coping with a 10% reduction of its solid-waste staff.

Many residents have made their frustration at the lack of curbside recycling known on social media, saying that while they understand the strain the increased amount of trash puts on sanitation workers, they would like to see a more creative solution to the problem.

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“All my recycling is going into the trash,” Mesquite resident Susan Jeffords-Dorsey told The Dallas Morning News last week. “I would prefer [the city] cut services a little bit and instead of recycling every week, do it every other.”

Residents can still use the city’s recycling program by taking their recyclables to the Citizens Convenience and Recycling Center at 3550 Lawson Road.

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It is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday to Saturday. Residents are allowed unlimited free trips to dispose of recyclables but must provide proof of Mesquite residency.

Keheley said at a budget meeting earlier this month that solid-waste and recycling programs would be evaluated next year.

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