Columbia says reliance on temp agencies for trash collection “not a sustainable solution”

Workers from a local temp agency called People Ready are assisting with the city’s trash collection. The newly hired agency is paid $20 an hour per employee. The city paid the previous agency $13.20 an hour.

Patricia Weisenfelder, a spokeswoman for Solid Waste, said the city does not know the number of additional employees the temp agency will continue to send to help with trash pickup.

“It’s unclear how many, how often or how long they will provide staff,” Weisenfelder said.

She said the Solid Waste Utility has relied on support from temporary agencies for several years.

“We understand this is not a sustainable solution,” she said.

The city has seven vacancies for its residential collection of Solid Waste. Weisenfelder said it’s not unusual for full-time employees to work 45 to 50 hours per week due to the staffing shortage.

“Finding, hiring and retaining employees for the collection job has been difficult for several years now,” she said.

The previous temp agency, Express Employment Professionals, ended its contract with Solid Waste last Thursday due to high costs of employee injuries during trash collection.

The city advises Columbia residents to place trash and recycling out on their normally scheduled collection day. Trash collection is prioritized first. Weisenfelder said residents should leave recycling at the curb and crews will collect it within 48 hours.