Waste and Recycling

Aug. 30, 2021 - While staffing shortages continue to impact Polk County's waste collection haulers, an additional 13 drivers were deployed Saturday, Aug. 28, for recycling collections in Polk City, along with bulk and yard waste in the Winter Haven and Lakeland areas. East Polk areas also received additional bulk collections in the Davenport, Haines City and Poinciana areas. Both residential haulers are dedicating efforts to catch up on other missed collections countywide.

Aug. 26, 2021 - Polk County's two contracted waste haulers will target missed pickups throughout the county on Saturday.

The additional waste collections, which will target specific materials on each side of the county, are due to staffing shortages at both companies caused by the pandemic.

The Saturday routes on the west side of the county will target recycling, yard waste and bulk collections. For customers on the east side of county, haulers will pick up bulk waste.

“The haulers strategy is to start collecting the oldest materials on the ground and then move to the newest until they are caught up,” said Brian Cogswell, Polk Waste & Recycling's Business Process Analyst Manager. “If you're on the west side of the county, it is best to have your bulk, recycling and yard waste out through Saturday.”

Saturday's additional collections will focus on specific areas. In western Polk, haulers will target the Bartow, Gibsonia, Kathleen, Medulla, Willow Oak, Winston, Fussels Corner, Mulberry, Bradley Junction, Fuller Heights, Brewster, Achan, Nichols and Royster communities. On the eastern side, haulers will focus on bulk waste collection in the Davenport area.

Normally, residential curbside collection occurs between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Collection service schedules may be extended according to labor availability and customer needs.

Updates regarding service delays or changes will be posted on Polk County's website, Facebook, Twitter, and NextDoor until collection services return to normal schedules.

Polk County's residential solid waste customers are seeing collection service delays. Like a lot of other businesses, our haulers are experiencing a truck driver shortage. This means, during these difficult times, that it takes them a little longer to run our routes every day. We know that this is an inconvenience to you, and we are dedicated to making critical updates to our routes as our commitment to provide essential curbside collection service. Thank you for your patience as we work as quickly and safely as possible to collect your garbage, recycling and yard waste.

Customers requesting a second garbage cart must complete and submit application on or before September 24^th, 2021 for processing, or you will need to wait until after October 1^st, 2021 before a second garbage cart can be issued. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

If you need to report a missed collection, or request bulk pickup service, please submit a service request online or use the Polk Waste Wise app on your smartphone.

Polk County Waste & Recycling's mission is to provide excellent service to Polk County residents, to add value to our employees, to protect the environment and reduce operating cost through the effective use of resources. Waste & Recycling has 50 employees in the areas of landfill operations staff, administration, engineering and customer care.

The division performs a number of key functions including:

• Landfill management
• Residential curbside collection facilitation and contract management
• Household hazardous waste processing

In addition, the division is responsible for communicating information from the State regarding disposal, recycling and solid waste management.

Waste & Recycling staff are following CDC safety guidelines/precautions. To ensure your safety and the safety of our staff, prior to entering the facility we will be asking preliminary questions through our intercom system to better assist you.

We appreciate your patience as well serve you as efficiently and safely as possible.