Customers of local trash company A.J. Blosenski say garbage isn't being picked up

"It just sits here day after day," said Jen Keown. "The smell is horrific."

ByNydia Han and Heather Grubola WPVI logo
Friday, August 11, 2023
Customers of local trash company say garbage isn't being picked up
Massive trash trouble is impacting homeowners in multiple Pennsylvania counties, from Chester up to Lehigh.

LIMERICK, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Massive trash trouble is impacting homeowners in multiple Pennsylvania counties, from Chester up to Lehigh.

Consumers tell the Action News Troubleshooters their garbage isn't being picked up.

"They just have not been coming," said Heather Curran of Limerick, Montgomery County. "It's just really gross."

Her neighbors say the same.

"It just sits here day after day," said Jen Keown. "The smell is horrific."

"Not a pleasant sight," said Fred Fritz.

These homeowners pay A.J. Blosenski for weekly trash pickup.

The problem is:

"We're going on the third week where there's been no trash pickup whatsoever," said Fritz.

"Very frustrating, because now the trash is really starting to pile up on the street," said Curran.

A.J. Blosenski Inc. was a family-owned company that was incorporated in 1984 and went on to become one of Pennsylvania's largest independent haulers.

It was acquired by nationwide garbage giant, Waste Connections, in September of last year.

"It's only been recently that they failed to pick up the trash," said Fritz.

These consumers aren't the only ones complaining. Many homeowners are also taking to social media to trash the company.

"I've called the company close to 20 times," said Keown.

"Honestly, they have not been answering our phone calls," said Curran.

"I've gone to their website and left trouble tickets and have not heard a thing," said Fritz.

A.J. Blosenski does have a notice on its website apologizing for service interruptions and citing staff shortages.

"But they haven't said 'Well, you're gonna miss the next one week, or the next two weeks, the next three weeks. There has been nothing. So we don't know what to expect," said Fritz.

Blosenski does say it's "aggressively hiring and training additional staff" and "reconfiguring many of our routes." It also says, "team members are working tirelessly to get areas cleaned up while still operating within the Department of Transportation's Hours of Service requirements."

But these customers are tired of waiting and now warning others.

"Just letting people know that hey, this is going on and you need to be aware of this - and hopefully it may not help us but it may help somebody else," said Fritz.

The good news, at least for those homeowners in Limerick, is their trash did finally get picked up on Friday.

Meantime, we contacted both A.J. Blosenski and Waste Connections. We have not yet heard back from either company yet but we will keep trying.

A.J. Blosenski's Online Statement:

To our valued customers who depend on us, we would like to first apologize for any service interruptions you may have experienced recently.

We are currently experiencing staff shortages which is resulting in service delays. We share your frustration with these challenges and want you to know we are aggressively hiring and training additional staff while retaining the valued team members we do have.

We are also working on various situations behind the scenes, such as reconfiguring many of our routes, that will decrease the service interruptions and restore service back to the level to which our customers are accustomed to.

Most importantly, our AJ Blosenski, Inc. team members are working tirelessly to get areas cleaned up while still operating with the Department of Transportation's Hours of Service Requirements. We appreciate any grace you can extend to them during this stressful time.

We appreciate your patience and understanding.