Philadelphia Officials Would Like Residents To Stop Calling 311 To Report Trash Collection Delays

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia officials would like residents to stop calling 311 to report trash delays. Trash collection remains two to four days behind, a city spokesperson told CBS3 on Friday.

Residents should keep their trash and recyclables out for pickup as the backlog depends on the amount of tonnage in each neighborhood, the spokesperson said.

On Sunday, the Streets Department said trash and recycling collection would be one day behind this week in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Fay and increased loads.

A city spokesperson said in some cases, sanitation workers did collect trash and recyclables in the same truck this week as the result of the delays and materials being contaminated and wet, which resulted in the recyclables not being able to be processed.

Trash and recyclables will continue to be collected in separate trucks going forward unless the materials become contaminated, the spokesperson said.

The city spokesperson said Mayor Jim Kenney is not currently considering enlisting private contractors to assist with trash collection.

"Not at this time. The Department is taking the necessary steps to return to a normal collections schedule as quickly as possible. This includes moving additional staff from other areas of the Department to assist with collections, deploying more trucks and transferring staff to assist those units that have attendance issues related to COVID-19," the city spokesperson said.