Working4You: Little Rock woman’s trash pickup service stalled, says crews haven’t come by in a year

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A woman in Little Rock is looking for answers after months of a back and forth with the city’s trash collection department.

The City of Little Rock has a carry out service that helps people with physical disabilities get their trash to and from the curb. It’s supposed to be a helpful tool for those with limited mobility, but Linda Alexander said it’s proving to be more of a burden than anything else.

Working4You met with Alexander at her home to talk about the ongoing problem. While we were there, she let us listen in on what she said was a typical call with 311, Little Rock’s helpline.

Alexander spent 15 minutes going back and forth with the woman on the phone, reporting the same issue she had times before. Alexander said she has been calling frequently throughout the year.

“He told me to start calling weekly, but why should I? You all know what’s going on,” Alexander said.

Under the carry out program, crews are supposed to come to the front door, take the trash can down to the curb, empty it and bring it back up for the next week.

Alexander said crews have only stopped by once in the last year.

“What am I supposed to do, just let it sit there in maggot scum? I don’t know of anything else to do,” Alexander said.

Working4You’s attempt to get answers started with the Public Works customer service line, then the director of the city department and finally a call to the city’s spokesperson, Aaron Sadler.

Sadler said the city had received four different requests from Alexander, three of which were made the day after the scheduled pickup date. He claims the requests were, “handled promptly.”

Within a matter of hours, Sadler updated Working4You, saying the problem would be fixed the following day.

Sure enough, it was.

Working4You called Alexander on her normal trash pickup day. She says crews came up to her door and helped her get her bin to the curb. It’s important to note, trash carry out and recycle carry out are two different programs.

Alexander said she was having issues with both, so Working4You reached out to the city’s contracted recycling company, Waste Management.

A spokesperson for the company, Bailey Moll, said “there was a clerical issue that didn’t get the address routed to the carry out truck.”

Moll said because Alexander said she was having issues with her “trash pickup” her messages weren’t forwarded to the recycling company.

Moll said Working4You’s call prompted a revisit of the entire program to “make sure all of the standard operating procedures are improved.”

Waste Management said a lot of people make the mistake of calling the city’s help line 311 and generically saying they are having “trash pickup issues.”

Moll said it’s important to remember if you are having these issues to be very specific, so your questions are routed to the correct person.

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