Pittsboro, NC – The seven Chatham County Solid Waste & Recycling Collection Centers that have been closed temporarily, due to a commercial driver shortage, reopened on Monday, November 15, 2021.
The Bonlee, Cole Park, Pittsboro, and Siler City Collection Centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The eight remaining centers are Asbury, Bennett, Crutchfield Crossroads, Goldston, Hadley, Harpers Crossroads, Moncure, and Marthas Chapel. Those eight centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The Moncure center was open on Wednesdays temporarily but will be closed on Wednesdays again. All twelve Collection Centers will remain closed on Sundays going forward.
“We know that the centers being closed over the last several weeks has been inconvenient for a lot of folks, and we appreciate the community being patient as we worked to hire and train additional drivers,” said Kevin Lindley, Chatham County Environmental Quality Director.
Solid Waste & Recycling made the decision to close the centers on Sundays for several operational reasons. “The trash, bulky, and recycling containers at the centers were regularly filling up over the weekends before the temporary closures and will only continue to do so as Chatham County’s population grows,” said Lindley. “When a container is full on the weekend, a driver must go out on Sunday to switch it. Since no disposal facilities are open on the weekends, the driver must store it until Monday. This leads to the centers also being full on Mondays. By closing all twelve centers on Sundays, this should nearly eliminate the need for a driver to come out on the weekends and result in the centers not regularly being full on Mondays.”
Additionally, the Collection Centers were only open for six hours on Sundays, and all twelve centers have the lowest visitation numbers on Sundays.
The Collection Centers are available to residents who have a 2021 decal. Residents must show a decal every time they use the centers.
More information about Chatham County Solid Waste & Recycling Collection Centers re-opening plan can be found on a Frequently Asked Questions web page. For future updates, individuals may visit the Solid Waste & Recycling website at chathamcountync.gov/recycle. Residents can also contact the Main Office at (919) 542-5516 Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. or anytime at recycle@chathamcountync.gov.