UPDATE: 2020-06-22 10:36 p.m. As of at least 9:30 p.m., at least some residents still had not had their garbage picked up on Monday. One reader tweeted the following:
Nope! #Andersondrive @CityofCornwall #Mondaywastepickup @BernadetteClem @Maureen_Adams https://t.co/DSicuj1mEZ pic.twitter.com/kjOUDVOAOp
— Eric (@profiremedic) June 23, 2020
CORNWALL, Ontario – Environmental 360 Solutions (E360S), the company contracted by the City of Cornwall to collect garbage and recycling has stated that they are back on track as of Monday, June 22.
This comes after several residents in Cornwall found that their garbage was not picked up as scheduled on Friday, June 19 and despite promises for it to be picked up the following day, Saturday, when it again was not.
“Because of COVID collection volumes have increased dramatically, which is something that local management had not prepared for,” said E360S CEO Danny Ardellini in an interview with Seaway News. “We also had a staffing issue where a couple of people were calling in sick at once,” he went on to explain.
Ardellini said that the sick staff members were out for several days to ensure that they were not infected with COVID-19.
E360S sent senior manager to Cornwall on Monday to ensure that the route missed on Friday was completed.
“As of today we are all caught up,” said Ardellini.
City of Cornwall Chief Administrative Officer Maureen Adams told Seaway News in an email that this was not the first time that garbage collection had been delayed, citing a case in late May.
“The contractor has been collecting a little later than normal, but was able to complete daily routes up until last week,” wrote Adams. “I understand that residents are frustrated with these delays, and I would like to reassure them that the City has been in communication with e360. We have expressed to them the importance of timely collection and expect improvements soon.”
Adams went on to state that over the past week, there were delays on all routes.
One City Councillor felt that there was needed improvement in communication between E360S, City administration, Council, and the public.
“I was getting calls and telling residents what the city was telling me, that the garbage that was missed would be picked up on Saturday,” said Councillor Claude McIntosh. “Then at 4 p.m. the garbage wasn’t picked up and no one at the City knew about it.”
RELATED: Council votes to end relationship with HGC
Cornwall City Council entered into a garbage and recycling collection contract with E360S in January of 2019. This marked a move away from HGC, the company that had been doing collection in Cornwall for nearly 30 years.
E360S was awarded a seven year contract for a total of $24 million.
