CAPE CORAL, Fla., -- A Cape Coral resident caught Waste Pro workers throwing both recycling and garbage in the same pickup truck. It's something neighbors say happens all the time, with often times Waste Pro not coming at all.
“Trash trucks can’t get down our road, obviously, so they’ll go ahead and skip," said Jennifer Crawford.
Crawford says the amount of construction happening in the Northwest part of Cape Coral has kept Waste Pro from picking up their trash.
“The garbage was three weeks old, this week," explained 90-year old resident, Joyce Suchie. “I just keep putting it out there hoping this week it will go.”
Fox 4 reached out to the City for comment. A spokesperson provided this statement:
“There are always challenges during the UEP construction with mail delivery and trash pickup. We do work with Waste Pro to enable pickups to be made.”
Suchie says she depends on curbside pick up and when the trash is left too long, it tends to make a mess.
“The garbage gets more sour and you get flies that lay eggs and then you’ve got little worms," said Suchie. “It gets heavy after awhile. I can’t bring it out there myself.”
The City spokesperson explained, however, that dumping both garbage and recyclables in the same truck should not be happening and that Waste Pro is in charge of it.
UPDATE (6/2) -- Fox 4 received a statement from the City of Cape Coral on Saturday:
"The City gave Waste Pro direction to commingle garbage and recyclables into one pickup in the UEP construction areas to ensure pickup and minimize concerns with navigating the roads. We believe the priority is to get the bins emptied, and using one truck is safer and easier than sending multiple trucks down the muddy roads. We are going to advise residents in the UEP area of the potential that this might occur on occasion during construction."
