Residents angry as garbage pickups neglected in Knox

 

KNOX, Ind. -- Piles of smelly, maggot-infested garbage left sitting on the curb to rot outside Frank and Mary Wendt's home in Knox, Indiana.

"Last time was almost four weeks, and no pick up and it was just piling up piling up, maggots all over the place," said Frank Wendt.

A driver shortage is causing companies like Republic to shut down certain routes.

"Republic's just not picking our garbage up. We call, they say there's a driver shortage and a lot of times they don't call, just don't show up," Wendt said..

Wendt says those no shows have happened multiple times, and he's not alone!

Chuck Estes, another customer along this route -- believes they should get their money back.

"We pay for it to be picked up, they need to come pick it up," Estes said.

Frustrated residents on this route called the city of Knox, looking for help.

"Garbage cans are full, we couldn't even bring them back towards our house because there's so many of them. I have called our trustee, they told us to switch companies," Mary Wendt said.

Mary then reached out to ABC57 news, hoping to resolve the situation.

I went to Republic Services on State Road 17 in Culver which is the location that operates the route in Knox.

The staff at the window told me that they are having a hard time finding drivers who qualify for employment, forcing the company to close certain routes and delay trash pickups.

That might mean the only solution for those along the Knox route, may be to choose a different company.

The Wendts have been loyal republic customers for years, and believe things would be different if the role was reversed.