City partnering with landscaping companies to gather yard waste piling up

ATLANTA — Help is on the way for those in Atlanta with grass clippings and leaves piling up.

The city is announcing that they will be partnering with private landscaping companies to help with pickups.

Bags filled with yard waste are lining streets for weeks at a time after the city went to an every other week pickup schedule.

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COVID-19 quarantines, injuries and long hours have made keeping up with that schedule difficult for the Department of Public Works.

Public Works Commissioner Al Wiggins Jr. says they think they may now have a solution by getting some help.

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Third party contractors will use their own equipment, but have signs showing they are working with the city.

“They will help us collect yard debris in areas that have been hardest hit, which are northeast and northwest side of town,” Wiggins said.

Wiggins says they will also be hiring temporary workers and are buying new trucks and software to help run routes with less manpower.

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Two new drop-off locations are also being added for anyone who wants to to haul their own debris away.

As leaves are getting ready to fall off the trees, many say the help couldn’t come soon enough.

Public Works says they have hired 40 new employees in the last 60 days to help alleviate some of stress. They Mayor and City Council have also approved a $500 monthly incentive pay for frontline workers.

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