Nearly two dozen Bay Area cities are among those nationwide being affected by the Republic Services trash collector strike, and some of these cities are being forced to get creative with dumpsters as the rubbish continues to stack up.

As KRON4 points out, several East Bay cities are in a pretty unsavory position as a trash collector strike is now entering its second week, which has meant no garbage collection, and ever-growing piles of trash on streets in places like Richmond, Fremont, Union City, Hercules, and Pinole. But it's not just the East Bay, as workers for the waste management company Republic Services are also striking (or on "solidarity strikes”) down the Peninsula in Daly City and Half Moon Bay, and as well as in San Jose. There are also trash collection workers striking in San Jose, and nationwide in places like Boston, Philadelphia, and the vicinity of Atlanta.

NBC Bay Area has the news that some Republic Services trash collection will resume, but this does not mean there has been any progress in the striking workers’ labor negotiations. The company is basically shipping replacement workers in from other areas, and encouraging customers to leave their loaded bins out front for as long as it takes for these replacement workers to catch up. Though Republic Services said in a statement that “Waste collection routes are being prioritized over recycling routes at this time,” so it doesn’t sound like residents’ recycling bins are getting cleared anytime soon.

But this “replacement worker” solution may end up creating more labor strife. According to a Monday report from KGO, “Before dawn Monday, ABC7 witnessed a confrontation between union members at the Daly City Republic Services location and an apparent replacement worker.”

Either way, negotiations between Republic Services and the Teamsters representing the sanitation workers are ongoing. NBC Bay Area has a new Monday afternoon report saying that both sides are back at the bargaining table, though an agreement Monday night seems unlikely, and discussions are expected to continue into Tuesday.

So what are residents going to do if they have uncollected trash sitting in front of their homes for possibly a week or more now? KRON4 points out that in Richmond, residents are allowed to take their trash directly to the dump at the Republic Services transfer station in North Richmond and drop as many as four bags, at no charge. KGO also adds that several communities have placed out dumpsters for people to leave trash, though that outlet also notes that “even those sites are overflowing, with people leaving things like mattresses and barbecues.”

Related: Striking Hotel Workers Reach Tentative Deal With Marriott [SFist]

Image: PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 8: Trash and recycling begins to pile up and spill onto sidewalks and out of trash bins as the DC33 (District Council 33) Union strike enters its second week on July 8, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. DC33 is the city's largest blue-collar worker union representing around 9,000 city workers in roles including sanitation, 911 dispatchers, and morgue employees. (Photo by Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)