{"id":15134194,"date":"2026-06-03T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/missed-trash-pick-up-complaints-have-jumped-in-pittsburgh\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T10:00:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T14:00:46","slug":"missed-trash-pick-up-complaints-have-jumped-in-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/missed-trash-pick-up-complaints-have-jumped-in-pittsburgh\/","title":{"rendered":"Missed trash pick-up complaints have jumped in Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/figure>\n

Pittsburghers are increasingly finding themselves stuck with garbage after collection day, 311 data shows. <\/p>\n

While the number of service requests to the City of Pittsburgh related to missed collections has been on an upswing over the last decade, a marked shift began after the pandemic. Now these complaints number more than 10,000 each year. <\/p>\n

The issue is particularly acute in the West End, South Hills and Greater Hill District neighborhoods, where some residents say missed trash only adds to the pile of litter issues in their area. There\u2019s no single reason the taxpayer-funded service has received an increasing number of complaints via the city\u2019s 311 help line, according to city officials.<\/p>\n

\"Missed<\/div>\n

Why? It\u2019s a bit of a mystery<\/h2>\n

Harold Love, a Highland Park resident, said \u201cit\u2019s inexplicable\u201d why his trash doesn\u2019t get picked up, sometimes for consecutive weeks. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s happened at our house numerous times even including instances when the other four houses on the street were not skipped,\u201d he said in an email. <\/p>\n

While a call to 311 usually gets another truck out that same day, he said it\u2019s usually a different crew unable to provide a reason for the initial missed collection. <\/p>\n

\"\"
Trash overflows a dumpster on May 21, in the Hill District. (Photo by Claira Tokarz\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pittsburgh’s Public Source first learned of this issue at a Larimer Consensus Group community meeting in April, at which residents raised their missed pickup issues. Data available through the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center<\/a> indicates that Pittsburghers submitted about 3,400 service requests related to missed trash collections in 2019. That number has more than tripled since.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Have a story of missed trash pick-up in Pittsburgh? Email it to mia@publicsource.org<\/a>, including your name, neighborhood and the approximate date of the missed collection, and we may add it to this story.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Shifting work habits could be a possible reason, according to Molly Onufer, the mayor\u2019s press secretary. <\/p>\n

While employers enforced work-from-home protocols to limit the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, the city Bureau of Environmental Services collected more than 96,000 tons of garbage \u2014 a total not since reached \u2014 and 14,500 tons of single-stream recyclables. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2020, everyone started working from home and not only did sheltering in place increase refuse, but people were cleaning out spare rooms for office space and creating tons more trash,\u201d she said in an email. \u201cCovid also affected the Environmental Services workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tonnage of municipal waste collected by the city \u2014 which includes trash that\u2019s been picked up after a missed collection \u2014 has since dropped below pre-pandemic levels, even as 311 requests continue to rise. Onufer said the increase in requests could be due to repeat calls over the same issue, or residents calling when trucks don\u2019t come at their usual times. <\/p>\n

\"311<\/div>\n

The city\u2019s garbage truck fleet also includes 36 vehicles for residential pickups and 13 for recycling \u2014 the same as before the pandemic. Not all vehicles are available each day, Onufer said, which can increase missed pickups.<\/p>\n

She also said that the city no longer services trash cans over 35 gallons or recycled waste kept in blue bags. Putting out refuse that does not adhere to these new guidelines could result in a missed pickup, she said. <\/p>\n

Just one issue in a pile of waste problems<\/h2>\n

Jonathan Alexander, a Sheraden resident and president of the neighborhood\u2019s community council, said every now and then he\u2019ll read complaints about missed trash collections posted to Facebook groups. He\u2019ll even share his own at times \u2014 as he once did after seeing a stack of three mattresses sitting in a front yard. <\/p>\n

For every 100 residents, Sheraden saw about five requests to 311 for missed trash collection last year \u2014 lower than nearby Elliott and Chartiers City, though above the citywide average of 4 in 100.<\/p>\n

\"Missed<\/div>\n

But collections are only one aspect of a broader waste problem in Sheraden, Alexander said: Littering and illegal dumpsites are persistent issues in the neighborhood, too.  <\/p>\n

\u201cIf we had perfect trash collection, we\u2019d still have issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

All waste in Pittsburgh should theoretically go to either landfills in Monroeville or Imperial, or to a sorting facility if it\u2019s recyclable. Illegal dumpsites pop up when people instead drop off their waste on public land or private property. <\/p>\n

\"\"
Ivan Rodgers, of Sheraden, talks about how often people dump their trash on both sides of the street, and how he will regularly go up and down the street cleaning it up, on May 21. (Photo by Claira Tokarz\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Allegheny Cleanways, a nonprofit that focuses on mitigating illegal dumping and littering, has identified more than 2,000 of these sites. <\/p>\n

About 10 exist in Sheraden, Alexander said, and several sites exist in neighborhoods such as the Middle Hill and Hazelwood, where 311 requests were submitted at higher rates than other parts of the city.  <\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
Trash piles up beside Stafford Street in Sheraden on May 21. Ivan Rodgers, who lives on the street, says people often dump their trash on both sides. (Photo by Claira Tokarz\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

On top of that, \u201cIt is not uncommon for the trash collectors to come through, pick up trash and then the area where they pick up trash is filthier than when they came,\u201d Alexander said. This often happens because the trash wasn\u2019t packed well or animals got to it. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not sanitation workers\u2019 responsibility to pick up scraps from broken trash bags or cans that\u2019ve been rummaged through, he said, but \u201cit leaves a community impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

More education needed<\/h2>\n

City Councilor Kim Salinetro, whose western district includes neighborhoods with elevated requests, said she hasn\u2019t seen any upticks in complaints recently. At the same time, she said more education is needed around how to properly bag trash, how to sort recycling and when to put waste out for collection. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just an education lesson that people need to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of this, Salinetro said, some requests characterized as missed trash collections might really reflect other, related issues. \u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily, \u2018Hey you missed my house,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cIt’s, \u2018My neighbor put their garbage out and the raccoons are getting to it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Donte Brown-Massie, a recreation leader for the city who\u2019s been a resident of the Middle Hill for roughly 10 years, also said the issue is \u201c50\/50 all around.\u201d While his household has not seen missed collections, he said issues can arise for others when the trash is set out too early, particularly in the summer when more animals are out. <\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
Donte Brown-Massie of the Middle Hill talks about the problems that occur when trash is set out too early, on May 21, in the Hill District. (Photo by Claira Tokarz\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Residents should be encouraged to use 311 more often, Alexander said. \u201cThere\u2019s a chasm between the residents and the importance of using [311],\u201d he said. \u201cThe city isn\u2019t \u2018all-seeing and knowing.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

But Alexander also said \u201cthere could be a lot of room for improvement\u201d on the responses of the city and community groups where waste issues exist. <\/p>\n

The Sheraden Community Council, for instance, holds annual garbage derbies, which bring community members together each spring to clean up the neighborhood for a few hours.<\/p>\n

The city holds an annual Garbage Olympics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alexander said one of the reasons Sheraden started organizing derbies was because \u201clitter begets litter,\u201d and removing what they could might help veer others away from leaving garbage around. <\/p>\n

Mia Hollie is the economic development and housing reporter for Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source. She can be reached at <\/em>mia@publicsource.org<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

This story was fact-checked by Emma Folts.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Missed trash pick-up complaints have jumped in Pittsburgh<\/a> appeared first on Pittsburgh's Public Source<\/a>. PublicSource is a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region. Visit www.publicsource.org to read more.<\/p>\n

Source: News \u2013 World \u2013 Pittsburgh \u2013 rss.app1 \u2192 manual entry<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The tonnage of municipal waste collected by the city \u2014 which includes trash that\u2019s been picked up after a missed collection \u2014 has dropped below pre-pandemic levels, but garbage-related 311 requests continue to rise.
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