Shortage Of Drivers Leaves Garbage Piling Up In Costa Mesa Streets
COSTA MESA (CBSLA) — Garbage is piling up in Costa Mesa due to sanitary workers being hit hard by COVID-19 infections.
The Costa Mesa Sanitary District, which serves Costa Mesa and parts of Newport Beach and unincorporated county areas, says they are short on drivers due to the ongoing surge of COVID cases.
Images posted Saturday on social media show bags of garbage beginning to pile up in cans that have not been picked up in Costa Mesa's College Park neighborhood.
The district says the drivers who are unable to work due to COVID infections or isolation are employed by waste-hauling contractor CR&R.
"As a result, there will be delays in the collection of both Organics and Mixed Waste Carts this week," the district said in social media posts. The district also asked their customers to leave their garbage cans out for collection until they are picked up.
This latest wave of COVID infections are bringing back memories of the start of the pandemic in 2020 – events are being canceled, hospital staffs are being strained, and students are having to return to remote learning all over again. The skyrocketing increase in infections was especially bad for the airline industry, which was forced to cancel thousands of flights during the busy holiday travel season due to staff shortages and bad weather.
However, there are more tools available to fight this latest wave of the virus, including vaccines that prevent severe illness and death and tests and medical-grade masks that are being provided free by the Biden Administration.
