Salt Lake City

SLC.gov

Join Salt Lake City in Celebrating Waste & Recycling Workers Week

This week marks national Waste & Recycling Workers Week and Salt Lake City will thank its Waste & Recycling Division employees in recognition of their critical and continued work to keep the city clean, particularly during the past few challenging months.

Salt Lake City’s Waste & Recycling Division employees have consistently demonstrated their dedication to the community throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Although some City functions have changed, refuse services have continued uninterrupted, including garbage, recycling, and compost collection as well as the Call 2 Haul bulk waste program.

“We’ve seen large increases in residential waste with folks staying at home more since March,” said Mayor Erin Mendenhall. “Our refuse operators have kept up with these increases and haven’t missed a beat through a pandemic, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake, and all of the challenges to our operations that social distancing has brought. They are out on the streets five days a week, every week of every month. So this week we’re highlighting these amazing men and women and the important service they provide to Salt Lake City.”

The Mayor will deliver a personal message to the division’s 60 employees today for “Waste & Recycling Workers Week” and invites the public to do the same. 

“Our employees have pretty solitary jobs,” said Waste & Recycling Director Chris Bell. “But they love the interactions they have with the neighborhoods they serve. Give them a wave when you see them on your street. Or take part in drawing a chalk art message on your container as the Mayor and others have done. It makes our drivers smile.”

The public is also invited to submit a message to their local refuse hauler by contacting the Division directly. Phone, email, and online messages will be shared with staff.

Between March and April, the City experienced a 40 percent increase in refuse collection by weight and a 6 percent increase from April to May. This uptick requires more trips to and from the Landfill, recycling plant, and transfer station, and staff have spent more time on their routes to make sure the City’s waste is properly handled.

In a typical year, Salt Lake City refuse haulers cart away 40,000 tons of garbage, 10,000 tons of recycling, and 16,500 tons of green waste from 42,000 residences.

Residents may join the Mayor in sharing their gratitude during Waste & Recycling Workers Week by:

·          Posting a message on social media and tagging @slcgreen

·          Calling (801) 535-6999 to leave a message

·          Sending an email to slcwasteandrecycling@slcgov.com

·          Filling out the online form:

 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgz0ldIDK-s7VjQORpyWuhmx7IoV647fjyqdATihEMkGBspQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

More information about Salt Lake City’s Waste & Recycling services is available here:https://www.slc.gov/sustainability/waste-management/.

Learn more about Waste & Recycling Workers Week: https://www.wasterecyclingworkersweek.org/

###

Tags: , , ,

Share "Join Salt Lake City in Celebrating Waste & Recycling Workers Week" to your social network: