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A long line of cars formed around Otay Landfill this week as South Bay residents waited to dump their garbage as the trash service strike continues.
According to NBC7, the landfill is being used as a dumpsite since around 300 trash collection workers represented by Teamsters Local 542 stopped working to express their dissatisfaction with Republic Services.
The waste collection company primarily serves the city of Chula Vista, Bonita, Eastlake, and some neighborhoods of San Diego County.
Trash collection in these areas has been affected since December 17.
According to NBC7, contract negotiations continued on Christmas Eve but an agreement was not reached.
Some workers have called the new contract they were offered "disprespectful" but did not go into detail about what was offered. Republic Services did not go into details about the negotiations as well but did release a statement in which they said they respect the rights of their employees who want to participate in them.
For residents impacted by this, Republic Services shared these tips to get rid of their trash:
- Take out garbage on the assigned day of collection
- Place excess trash in bags on side of the bin
- If the bin is not picked up on the scheduled day, leave the bin on the sidewalk to be picked up as soon as possible
- Yard waste, recycling, and collection of large objects is suspended until further notice.