Fannie Sanders remembers when county garbage was picked up by a man in a pickup truck.

“And, that was a whole lot better service than we’re getting now,” Sanders said. “Some folks have told me not to kick up a fuss about the garbage because they might stop coming. I said they’re not coming anyway so I’m going to say what I want to say.”

Advanced Disposal didn’t pick up Sanders’ garbage on Friday, her regular pickup day.

“They didn’t get it Saturday or Monday or Tuesday so we burned it on Wednesday,” she said. “We had to burn it or the dogs would get in it in spite of the devil.”

Sanders called Advanced Disposal Monday and was told the truck would be “right back.”

“When the truck didn’t come I called them again and they made me hold the line and listen to music for 15 minutes and then, ‘plop’ and ‘call back later,’” she said. “I couldn’t get anybody to talk to me but if I didn’t send in my $47 payment, they’d talk to me then.”

Sanders frustration has been building over time.

“A long time,” she said. “This has been going on a long time. I pay to get my garbage picked up and it’s not being picked up. One time it was three weeks and they hadn’t picked up the garbage. We were tying to burn it and the shop caught on fire and the fire trucks came out and the ambulance, too. This garbage pickup is a mess all over the county and somebody needs to do something about because we’re being charged for a service we’re not getting.”

Ray Goodson, Pike County Commissioner District 4, agreed with Sanders that garbage collection is a problem in the county.

The county’s solid waste collection contract is with Advanced Disposal and Goodson said the contract should be honored.

“I get calls all the time and garbage pickup is a problem all over the county,” Goodson said. “A lot of times they don’t pick up the garbage for days and it starts to stink. Some people say the truck will pick up at one house and skip others. Sometime they miss a entire road.”

Goodson said damaged cans are often removed and a replacement can won’t be brought for weeks.

“There are a lot of problems with the way the garbage is being collected and the people are paying for the service and they should get the service they pay for,” he said. “We’ve had representatives from Advanced Disposal come to the Commission meetings before and we need to get them here again. I don’t know if we’ll be able to get them here Monday night. But they’re coming. We do have a problem.”