Darlington acts to fix trash delays with help from neighboring cities

DARLINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — After weeks of growing frustration from Darlington residents over trash pick-up delays, surrounding cities have stepped in to lend a hand.

Monday night, Darlington City Council held an emergency meeting to address the issue and plan a path forward.

The council discussed plans to fix one of its trash trucks that has been out of service and to temporarily rent another.

Council members say they hope these steps will get trash pick-up back on track.

For weeks, Darlington residents have complained about trash piling up. In some neighborhoods, residents said garbage was sitting out for days at a time.

All three of the city’s trash trucks have been down at some point this summer due to maintenance issues, leaving city crews struggling to keep up.

Help has come from neighboring communities like the town of Latta, which sent a truck last week to help clear the backlog.

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The city council voted to repair one of the city’s trash trucks for the cost of nearly $30,000.

Additionally, it voted to purchase a rental trash truck for their current overload at a cost of nearly $10,000.

Darlington mayor Curtis Boyd says he’s hoping trash pick-up scheduling will return to normal within the next month.

“I’m not here to fuss with anybody, it’s just a matter of everybody being patient… It’s coming,” Boyd said. “People ask, ‘Can you get a refund?’ The city’s not going to give you your refund back; if we give everyone a refund back, we’re going to have enough money to fix the truck.”

The city’s sanitation crews have been working overtime. And even the mayor and councilman, Bryant Gardner, helped out, collecting over 12 tons of trash just yesterday.

Darlington County has also extended landfill hours to accommodate the increased drop-offs.

Boyd thanks residents for their patience regarding trash pick-up delays. He says this issue has gone on longer than expected.

“I’m the mayor of Darlington. I only have a certain amount of power,” Boyd said. “The city manager is supposed to be a professional and run the city as a professional, which is not being run that way. Again, if I hurt somebody’s feelings tonight, I’m sorry, but I’m just going to tell you the truth. It’s been an issue, and there are issues behind it, and we’re going to correct that issue, so again, I apologize to the public for that. But it comes from the council working together to correct these issues.”

City council also voted to give street sanitation workers $100 bonus for their recent efforts.

The city tells me its street sanitation department consists of 21 employees.

Mayor Boyd says the rental truck approved tonight is coming from Charlotte – and hopes for it to arrive within the next few days.