Waste and Recycling Service in Winter Weather

FAQs and Tips
Common factors that may lead a driver to be unable to service your location during inclement weather:
  • Steep hill or winding road that may be difficult to navigate during snowy or icy condition’s
  • Poor visibility due to snow/high winds
  • No Place to turn around due to areas not being plowed
  • Your trash may have been placed on or behind a snow mound and may have been inaccessible to the driver/helper to safely reach
  • In the event of a State of Emergency being issued
FAQs and Tips:

Question: “My road was plowed and I was able to drive down my road to go to work. I don’t understand why your driver didn’t drive down my street.”

Answer: As stated earlier, our drivers have been empowered to make decisions regarding the safe operation of their vehicle. Our vehicles are much larger and heavier than a passenger vehicle and do not handle in the same manner. One of our normal full size collection trucks can weigh over 40,000 pounds when empty and over 70,000 pounds when fully loaded. In comparison, the average passenger vehicle weighs about 4,000 pounds.


Question: “Why can’t Waste Management use 4-wheel drive vehicles to provide service during the winter months?”

Answer: During inclement weather, there may be thousands of customers affected. It is not possible or practical for us to be able to service everyone in this manner.


Question: “Our driver usually arrives before daylight.  During the winter, he doesn’t come until much later. Why isn’t the pickup time consistent?”

Answer: Our vehicles are slowed by poor road conditions just as passenger vehicles. In addition, it can take our employees longer to service customers during bad weather. They must use extra caution while getting on and off the truck, while walking on icy surfaces or through deep snow to retrieve waste materials just as you might when you go to your mailbox or to retrieve your newspaper.


Question: "What are some things I can do in order to help Waste Management during the winter months?"

Answer: There are several things listed below that you can do to help us service you better during inclement weather.

  • Make Sure we have your current phone number and email address.  That will help us notify you of any delays or cancellations.
  • Visit www.wm.com/weather-alerk/index.jsp to see if there are any delays or cancellations in your area, it may be a good idea to bookmark the site for easy accessibility
  • Allow extra time for our drivers to arrive at your location before contacting our office
  • Please allow clear access to your container
  • Do not plow snow in front of your container
  • Make sure your trash bags/cans are visible and easily accessible by our driver
  • Please keep in mind that white bags are hard for our drivers to see on snow-covered ground or in snowy conditions
  • If your container is placed in an enclosure, please ensure the gate area is free and clear of snow and ice so gates can fully open, providing adequate access
  • If you have a driveway or parking lot that leads to your container, please try to keep them salted at all times
  • Please understand that our vehicles are different from yours and do not handle the same in snow or icy conditions.  Our drivers make everyone’s safety their number 1 priority, so sometimes they must decide not to service a particular road to protect everyone from potential injury or property damage.

We are always available to assist you with any comments, concerns or inquiries you may have regarding your service. Please feel free to contact our Customer Service Department at (800) 866-4460.