Garbage and recyclables pile up as omicron takes its toll

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2022-01-15 00:30:10

January 14, 2022

by Travis Loller

The omicron variant is sickening so many sanitation workers around the U.S. that some cities have had to delay or suspend garbage or recycling pickup, angering residents shocked that governments can't perform this most basic of functions.

The slowdowns have caused recycling bins full of Christmas gift boxes and wrapping paper to languish on Nashville curbs, trash bags to pile up on Philadelphia streets, and uncollected yard waste—grass clippings, leaves, branches—to block sidewalks in Atlanta.