City of Elkins Suspending Pickup of Bulky Solid Waste Items and Unbagged Trash

Special Pickups Paused, Spring Cleanup Postponed Indefinitely

Elkins W. Va., April 4, 2020: To reduce infection risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Elkins Sanitation Department will no longer accept any items not contained in a tied trash bag. Also, the Elkins Street Department is suspending most special pickups of bulky solid waste items, and the City of Elkins Spring Cleanup event is postponed indefinitely.

“After careful consideration of the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and based on advice from the West Virginia Public Service Commission, we believe that taking these steps is the only prudent course of action right now,” says Bob Pingley, operations manager for the City of Elkins. “We will consider making some special bulk pickups in situations where health or safety hazards are involved, but those will be judged on a case-by-case basis.”

Pingley emphasizes that, while the city has made exceptions to its requirement that trash be bagged for collection in the past, this rule will now be followed to the letter.

“We haven’t always been strict about enforcing this mandate,” says Pingley. “However, the current situation requires that we now do so. Starting next week, our sanitation crews will no longer pick up any trash that is not in a tied, regular garbage bag. We also cannot accept loose garbage placed in a garbage can.”

The reason for all of these steps, Pingley explains, is to safeguard the health of both the public and the city’s sanitation workers. “We recognize that these changes are an inconvenience, but we hope everyone understands why we’re doing this. The safety and health of these vital employees must be our first consideration, along with helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19 generally.”