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Recycling collection skipped repeatedly, city tells homeowner to continue calling 311
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BATON ROUGE - Stephanie Davis contacted 2 On Your Side to help find a solution to her repeated missed recycling. Each time her collection day is skipped she sends a message to 311. After so many times, Davis decided to contact WBRZ.
The recycling and garbage trucks came through early Thursday morning.
"Today is my pickup day and as you can see my recycling can is full, my neighbors are empty," said Davis.
Davis is paraplegic and relies on a wheelchair to get around. She's independent and typically doesn't ask for help.
"My friends will probably say I'm independent to a fault," she said.
Her recycling bin being left full is unacceptable since she can't wheel it to the curb herself. It's kept near her garage. Republic Services is supposed to wheel her bins to the trucks, empty them, and then place them back where they were found. Every year, Davis fills out a form issued by the city that's signed by a doctor and notarized confirming her medical condition. It's then placed on file with the city.
"You know, the average person doesn't have to beg to get their recycling picked up so why do I?" said Davis.
Her garbage bin has an orange lid and is collected with no problem. Recycling is repeatedly missed. It does not have an orange lid.
"Unfortunately, I can't get anyone to communicate with me to tell me if I'm doing something wrong or if there's something more I need to do," said Davis.
Her 311 entries date back years. It's gotten to the point that Davis now waits until her bin is full to request a pickup. According to her, Thursday's recycling day is missed every time.
"For the 100th time, I am disabled. My notarized paperwork is on file, they're supposed to come get my can and return it please pick up my recycling," one 311 entry reads.
She's grown tired of contacting 311 and emailing city officials who don't offer a solution other than to keep reporting the problem.
Thursday, 2 On Your Side reached out to the city and Davis' recycling was promptly collected by a person in a blue pickup truck seen on her Ring doorbell. When this article was published, the city had not responded to WBRZ and questions related to finding a solution for Davis.
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