Cape Coral neighbors still experiencing bulk waste pileup as Waste Pro issues continue

Waste Pro blames staffing shortages for delays in trash pickup or skipping streets altogether. And the City of Cape Coral has stepped in more than once.

The latest effort by the city is a bulk trash drop-off site. While residents appreciate the city’s help, they want Waste Pro to clean up its act.

While driving through some neighborhoods in Cape Coral, you’ll see piles of bulk waste. Some of the trash has been sitting along these curbs for days or even weeks.

Mike Quintero lives in Cape Coral. “This garbage has been out for three weeks may a little longer my next-door neighbor had mattresses out for a month, nothing has been done,” said Quintero.

Quintero says that since Waste Pro hasn’t been picking up his bulk waste, he had to come to the city’s drop-off location. He wasn’t too happy about it, either.

“We have to tow our own garbage out here to this facility, and as you can see, there’s two bins one guy out here telling you,” Quintero said. “‘Well, just lift it up throw it into that container over there.’ They don’t have a front-end loader anything to help you out. This is ridiculous. This is how you get treated paying your taxes in the City of Cape Coral.”

A spokesperson for the City of Cape Coral told WINK News in an email it’s only received “positive feedback” about the drop-off site. And that people should not expect staff to physically help them unload bulk items.

As for Waste Pro, the company said it suffered a staffing setback with the emergence of the omicron variant. The company did say it’s committed to finding ways to mitigate service disruptions.

Quintero says the city must make Waste Pro do the job it’s being paid to do. “This is terrible. This is no way to treat your people in Cape. They… they have to do better,” said Quintero.

Below is the full statement from the City of Cape Coral:

Since the bulk waste drop-off site opened on Tuesday almost 200 residents have utilized it, and the City has received only positive feedback.  The site was created to complement the service already provided to residents to place their bulk waste curbside.  It is purely a drop-off facility, if a resident had expectations of staff physically unloading their heavy or large bulk waste items, that was never the intent.  On-site staff is there to ensure the safety of our residents, and to ensure no hazardous waste or other non-conforming items are dropped off.”

You read Waste Pro’s full statement below:

Millions of workers across the United States in all industries are taking sick days due to the omicron variant. Our solid waste employees are working hard to perform collections but are not immune to the virus. These dramatic increases in time off significantly disrupt our service schedules.  Waste Pro is committed to proactively finding ways to mitigate service disruptions. Our local management is monitoring this situation daily and communicates regularly with Lee County and Cape Coral. We appreciate your patience. The safety and service of our communities are our number one priority.”