At County Hauling, we strive to service our residents and communities in a timely and effective manner. Trash collection is considered an essential service by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and County Hauling intends to continue operations under normal hours and schedules. With the developing restrictions related to COVID-19 and the unknown impact that it may cause to our communities, we would like to take a proactive approach to deal with the possible ramifications to your residents and our staff. We are working on developing contingency plans with the county health departments to determine the proper course of action to prevent further spread of the virus.
We will continue municipal & recycling collections as is, for now, but will be working closely with county officials. The following steps will be taken:
1) Only properly bagged trash will be collected. To protect the health and safety of our employees, we have reminded them that loose trash, while never acceptable, can be especially dangerous during a contagious outbreak. Please note that loose trash on roadways or lawns will be the responsibility of residents.
2) We will need to suspend bulk pick-ups. Given the larger amount of people home, there is a significant increase in the amount of trash being produced. Our primary focus is on eliminating recurring trash within your community.
3) We will be suspending yard waste pick-ups until further notice.
4) The CDC has announced that the virus can stay on cardboard for up to 24 hours and plastic for up to 3 days. We highly suggest you consider eliminating recycling collection as well, but we will continue to do so for the timing being at your direction.
….ONLY IF THE VIRUS CONTINUES TO SPREAD OR ADVISED BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS:
5) Recycling collections at the curb will be eliminated if the virus growth rate in our region spikes and there is a significant risk that recycling collections will cause a large risk to our drivers and put at risk infecting our entire staff. This would ultimately impact/impair our ability to collect MSW trash from residents. Maintaining trash collection is our goal for all of our communities and we will take whatever steps required to maintain this ability, including limiting other services.
….IN THE EVENT OF A BROAD INFECTION WITHIN YOUR COMMUNITY OR WITHIN OUR DRIVERS:
6) County Hauling will provide roll-off containers for trash only at community centers or Borough buildings as chosen by your department. No bulk items, recycling or construction material will be accepted if roll-offs are deployed. Understand, this will be our final resort in the event a large majority of our staff becomes infected or a broad infection occurs within your community. ALL POTENTIAL OPTIONS WILL BE EXHAUSTED TO NOT HAVE INTERRUPTIONS IN AT THE DOOR COLLECTIONS OF TRASH/ MSW AND WE WILL WORK WITH YOUR COMMUNITY TO TROUBLESHOOT THE BEST SOLUTION BASED UPON WHATEVER SITUATION ARISES.
Our Company’s goal is to always keep your community free from waste to help maintain the health, safety, and welfare of your community. We will continue this mission to the maximum extent of our ability in order to prevent further spread of infection and disease during these challenging times. Expect continual, bi-weekly communications from us regarding staffing levels to ensure no lapse in coverage. We look forward to continuing to service your residents. We hope and pray for an expedited resolution to this pandemic. We will continue to update you as the situation evolves.