STOCKTON, Calif. — As Daniel Barboza drives around Stockton's Weston Ranch neighborhood, where he operates a traveling pool and spa repair service, he can't help but notice the bins full of recycled goods dotting curbs of the neighborhood for the sixth day straight.
"Some of my neighbors' (recycling bins) are pretty loaded," Barboza said. "There's probably a few hundred or a couple of hundred that were affected."
Republic Services, which serves much of the Weston Ranch community where Barboza lives, normally picks up trash and recycling bins on Fridays.
Last Friday, Jan. 14, a garbage truck drove down the streets of Weston Ranch collecting trash but a recycling truck never came, according to Barboza and dozens of other neighbors, leaving the hundreds of full recycling bins on curbs.
Later that evening, Barboza called Republic Services hoping to learn why recycling bins were left full on the street and when neighbors can expect them to be collected.
"I actually did get ahold of somebody and she did apologize. She said they were short on drivers that day," Barboza said.
Barboza says Republic Services told him to keep the bins outside as drivers would come by to collect recycling over the weekend, which did not happen.
"So here we are Thursday, I left this morning and the recycle bins were still full," Barboza said.
For Barboza, the impact of the week-long delayed service is minimal. However, his home and neighborhood are not alone.
Residents from several other Stockton communities serviced by Republic, one of two waste companies operating in the city, have come forward explaining similar situations.
Thursday, the City of Stockton issued a notice saying that Christmas tree pickup was also being impacted by service delays, causing dead trees and full recycling bins to be left on curbs for several days across the city.
Connie Cochran, a public information officer with the City of Stockton says Republic Services is dealing with staffing shortages and drivers calling out sick, as is the case in several other industries.
Cochran recommends calling trash haulers such as Republic Services, directly if recycling bins or Christmas trees are not picked up. She adds that residents can cut up natural, non-flocked Christmas trees and put them in their organics bin.
Stockton residents can also fill out an online form to report a tree that still needs to be picked up.
When Barboza took to social media to report the delay, he was met with dozens of comments and similar posts which reported the same situation. He, and others, are hoping the bins will be collected soon before space to store recyclables runs out.
"It's not affecting us. But I mean, if it goes on another weekend, it might," Barboza said.
Republic Services did not respond to multiple requests for comment Thursday.
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