CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Curbside recycling pickup in Chesapeake is ending effective immediately, over a week sooner than when the city's contract was supposed to expire, officials announced Thursday morning.
With these changes, officials said the city's Waste Management Division will collect materials in blue bins as trash, starting with blue-bin-only collections on Saturday, June 25 and Monday, June 27.
Starting on Tuesday, June 28, both brown and blue bins will be collected as waste on normal collection schedules.
The announcement comes before the city's contract with TFC Recycling was originally supposed to end, effective July 1, after Chesapeake City Council voted to cut the recycling program in May.
Since then, many Chesapeake residents expressed their frustrations with delayed pickups and overfilled recycling bins, something TFC Recycling attributed to staffing shortages.
In wake of the changes, officials said additional crews and vehicles will work extended days and hours to catch up on the "excessive amount of material" left uncollected by the former recycling vendor.
City officials are encouraging people who already have blue bins at their curbs to leave them out until they're collected.
Starting July 1, Chesapeake residents still interested in recycling will have different options to do so, including a subscription-based service and drop-off sites.