Closing of Solid Waste Facilities on Sundays Due to Labor Shortages Effective Nov. 6, 2022

Prince William County Department of Public Works will be closing the county’s Solid Waste facilities on Sundays beginning Nov. 6, 2022. Despite the department’s efforts to recruit and reassign employees, they do not have sufficient staff to safely operate the Landfill and Balls Ford Road Compost Facility for the current 78 hours per week.

“The Solid Waste Division has a vacancy rate that has remained steady at around 20 percent and has continued to operate short-staffed in critical facility positions for well over a year, despite multiple recruitments and numerous job offers,” remarked Department of Public Works Director Thomas Smith. “Public- and private-sector demand in the region for heavy equipment operators and CDL drivers has outpaced available workers since the start of the pandemic. The labor shortage in these fields continues to cause service disruptions in the solid waste industry and is driving increasingly higher wages to attract and retain these workers.”

Sunday was chosen because Sunday is the only day of the week that commercial refuse haulers, which bring in most of the disposal tonnage, do not collect residential routes and bring the collected waste to the County Landfill and Balls Ford Road Compost Facility. Additionally, closing to the public on Sundays will give facility employees the opportunity to address deferred work and perform required maintenance and regulatory requirements. 

On average, the county’s solid waste facilities serve less than 1,300 residential customers on Sundays. The Department of Public Works recognizes this will create hardship for customers who typically use the facilities on Sundays and encourages them to use the facilities Mondays through Fridays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit pwcva.gov/trashandrecycling for more information on Solid Waste programs and services.

Those interested in career opportunities with the Department of Public Works or other county departments can view current openings and apply online at pwcva.gov/careers.