Every Sunday at the Grohman Narrows transfer station, the recycling gets backed up.

That’s because though the Regional District of Central Kootenay’s contractor services their bins six days a week, they take Sundays off — meaning things pile up until Monday morning.

And people have started sending the RDCK photos to prove it.

“We get quite busy at this site, and last weekend we had a staffing issue with a driver being ill,” resource recovery technician Travis Barrington told the Star, after hearing about the problem.

“It really does come down to how often our contractor, Waste Management, can send a truck out there. Six days is about as frequently as we can make it happen, and it’s in their interest to service the site as often as possible.”

Waste Management is the largest waste hauler in North America, and Barrington said they’re one of only a few contractors who could tackle a job of this size.

The photos submitted by residents show a number of blue bags piled on top of each other, which is a problem because residents are supposed to remove their recycling and insert it through the opening on their bins to ensure bulkier items don’t fill up the space.

“It’s a bit of extra work and personal responsibility to put items individually through the slot, or to empty your bag into the slot, but we really do need all the space we can get,” he said.

He noted that Nelsonites are enthusiastic about recycling, and hopes they won’t be discouraged.

“I get made aware of these problems by attendants or residents who post on social media, so we find out about these things quite quickly and we’re doing our best to address the issue.”