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Overcast Oceanside residents upset at lack of garbage pickup
Holiday schedule causes confusion
Many Oceanside residents were puzzled and annoyed last week when, on Wednesday, their garbage remained on the curb in front of their homes. It was still there,
rotting in front of peoples’ houses, on Thursday, too.
It wasn’t until Friday when the garbage was eventually picked up by workers from Sanitary District 7 (the special sanitation district that services Oceanside), and for many residents, it meant that things had been piling up for a week.
“We wanted to know when the pickup was,” said Marion Ikes, a resident of Skillman Avenue. “We thought it was on Wednesday.”
The problem arose because of Presidents Day on Monday, Feb. 20. Residents assumed that, because it was a federal holiday, garbage collection was suspended for the day. However, the District 7 trucks
still rolled through town, although there
wasn’t much to pick up.
According to Thomas Dapolito, a supervisor for Sanitary District 7, both the Town of Hempstead and District 7 had pickups on Presidents Day. Town of Hempstead workers, as per their contract, recoup that day off on the day after Thanksgiving.
“We never attempted to do that because we’d have a harder time trying to explain why we’re off the day after Thanksgiving,” said Dapolito. Instead, workers from District 7 had off on Wednesday, Feb. 22 — Washington’s Birthday. Most residents were unaware of this, though, and still put their trash out for pickup on Wednesday.
“My husband was very annoyed when he discovered on Wednesday that there was no pickup, after putting out all the garbage,” Ikes said. “We should be informed when there is going to be a day off.”
Dapolito agreed. The sanitation district doesn’t have a website or a way to let residents know about the pickup schedule. However, Dapolito said there is a plan in place to prevent this from happening again.
“Next year, we’re going to make sure that everyone knows,” he said. “We’re going to put little tabs on their pails [notifying them about the holiday].”
Aaron Axelson contributed reporting for this story.
