PITTSBORO — The seven Chatham County waste and recycling collection centers that temporarily closed on Sept. 23 due to driver shortages will reopen next Monday, the county announced on Tuesday.
The centers set to reopen are: Asbury, Bennett, Crutchfield Crossroads, Goldston, Hadley, Harpers Crossroads, and Marthas Chapel.
“We know that the centers being closed over the last several weeks has been inconvenient for a lot of folks,” said Kevin Lindley, Chatham County Environmental Quality Director. “We appreciate the community being patient as we worked to hire and train additional drivers.”
Starting Nov. 15, the Bonlee, Cole Park, Pittsboro, and Siler City Collection centers will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The eight remaining centers — Asbury, Bennett, Crutchfield Crossroads, Goldston, Hadley, Harpers Crossroads, Moncure and Marthas Chapel — will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The Moncure center was open on Wednesdays to alleviate the impact of the closures of other sites, but will be closed on Wednesdays moving forward. All 12 centers will remain closed on Sundays.
The decision to close all centers on Sunday was made for several reasons, the release said, but largely because the trash containers were regularly filling up over the weekends even before the temporary closures.
“When a container is full on the weekend, a driver must go out on Sunday to switch it. Since no disposal facilities are open on the weekends, the driver must store it until Monday. This leads to the centers also being full on Mondays,” Lindley said. “By closing all twelve centers on Sundays, this should nearly eliminate the need for a driver to come out on the weekends and result in the centers not regularly being full on Mondays.”
Centers were also only open for six hours on Sundays, the release said, and all 12 centers have the lowest visitation numbers on Sundays.
Residents can use the collection centers if they have a 2021 decal, which they must present every time they use the center. A set of two decals is issued to landowners who’ve paid a Solid Waste Fee per each qualified dwelling; additional decals are available for $10 by contacting the department’s main office at recycle@chathamcountync.gov or 919-542-5516.
When fully staffed, the county has five Commercial Driver License (CDL) drivers. When it decided to temporarily close some of its locations, it only had two. Staffing shortages spanning multiple industries and sectors across the state have led to closures and delays of service in many areas.
“While we are working as hard as possible to fill the vacant positions, the labor market for CDL drivers is very limited at this time,” Lindley said in September, when the closures were announced. “We have considered all of our options and have determined that reducing the number of centers serviced by our remaining drivers is our best option to continue to provide this needed service with our limited resources.”
More information about Chatham County Solid Waste & Recycling Collection Centers reopening plan can be found on a Frequently Asked Questions web page. For future updates, individuals may visit the Solid Waste & Recycling website. Residents can also contact the Main Office at 919-542-5516 Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. or by email at recycle@chathamcountync.gov.