The City of Chula Vista announced a number residents living in multi-family units can call to report overflowing trash around their dumpsters.
Effective Jan. 18, Chula Vista Residents residing in apartments and condominiums may report overflowing trash in dumpsters by calling Republic Services at (619) 421-9400. Property managers are to provide their name, telephone number, and location address by calling (619) 409-5977 or emailing trashservices@chulavistaca.gov.
City staff or contractors will be dispatched to assist in the clean-up of the area as soon as possible.
This comes after over 250 striking unionized Republic Services sanitation workers, represented by Teamsters Local 542, voted 137-70 to approve the waste hauler’s “last, best, and final offer” on Jan.17 that includes wage increases and benefits. Their vote subsequently ended the month-long strike that halted trash collection services in the City of Chula Vista and areas of San Diego
Both parties underwent 15 meetings and included federal mediators with no fruit stemming from negotiations.
Chula Vista City Manager Maria V. Kachadoorian issued a Local Emergency Declaration on Jan.12 due to mounting trash on city streets that created public health issues, and attracted pests and vermin amid the surging COVID-19 pandemic.
The waste hauler services 52,000 homes, 2,000 businesses, apartments, and condo complexes under the 10-year contract with Chula Vista. With the emergency declaration, city crews have worked to address the accumulation of trash in multi-family complexes, which have been impacted during the stoppage.
On Jan.15, the City Council ratified the emergency declaration. According to a statement, crews have picked up over 100,000 pounds of trash and serviced over 200 multi-family units as of Saturday.
Food, yard waste, and recyclables were improperly disposed of during the strike, which puts the city in violation of state and local law and “creating conditions of extreme peril to the health and safety of persons and property in the city,” according to the Proclamation on the Local Emergency.
“We appreciate our City employees from Public Works, Environmental Services, and Park Rangers who have gone above and beyond to help keep our City clean since the Local Emergency was declared. Their efforts will continue through the end of the week to streamline Republic Services’ return to normal operations,” said City Manager Maria V. Kachadoorian.
Chula Vista residents living in residential or commercial properties that see overflowing trash are asked to all Republic Services at (619) 421-9400.
