Cape to shift recycling routes because of staff shortages

Cape Girardeau Public Works Department will be shifting recycling pickup because of a worker shortage.

Stan Polivick, the director of Public Works, said beginning next week, Tuesday recycling routes will be shifted to Wednesday to help spread out the workload and accommodate shorthanded staff.

Staffing's a problem Public Works has been grappling with for over a year, Polivick said. The department currently has 15 open positions with the most need in waste management.

In an interview with the Southeast Missourian at the beginning of August, Polivick said the situation surrounding waste management was bad but not dire.

"It's dire," he said Thursday morning.

Overtime has become constant for those on the waste management crew. Tuesday, staff worked a 12-hour shift just to keep up with normal operations.

"The wear and tear of the overtime is what's really hurting us," Polivick said.

"Anyone in any role gets into that fatigue factor, accidents are going to be happening. Mistakes are going to happen," he added.

Polivick said he hasn't seen a significant increase in mistakes because of the increased workload, but he's fearful it could start happening.

The recycling shift to Wednesdays is a calculated move to keep running the service while attempting to reduce burnout for employees. Crews normally run Mondays and Tuesdays, and Thursdays and Fridays. Wednesdays are set aside for other tasks. Tuesdays and Fridays are normally the longest for workers, with Tuesdays being the biggest struggle even at full strength, Polivick said.

Shifting the recycling pickup to Wednesdays will hopefully prevent staff from working 12-hour Tuesdays, the director said.

Also because of staffing issues, training now takes longer because crew members don't have as much time to train new people on the trash trucks, specifically, the automated one, he said.

Polivick said the hiring process is going better than it was six months ago -- applicants are coming in more frequently. The goal is to run the adjusted schedule in October and hopefully be back to the normal one sometime in November, pending hiring and training.