A shortage of drivers is behind recurring problems with recycling pick-ups in some parts of Vancouver, according to the organization that contracts collection for the city.

For weeks, Vancouver residents have been complaining on Twitter about Smithrite Disposal missing scheduled collection times. That includes Renee Mak, who says Smithrite has skipped her home near Riley Park at least five times since October — including last week.

Once, she says, the company missed three weeks in a row.

"Oh my God, we have such a backlog," Mak told CBC.

<a href="https://twitter.com/RecycleBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RecycleBC</a> This is absolutely unacceptable. I have been dealing with missed pickups for 2 months with emails with useless customer service not being sensitive to how infuriating this situation is. Please work with Smithrite to remedy this ongoing issue across Metro Vancouver —@renee_mak

They're not the only ones. CBC has also spoken to people living in Mount Pleasant and Kerrisdale about missed pick-ups in recent months.

Mak says there are four households on the property where she lives, and they've all had similar troubles.

"We didn't realize it until we started talking with each other, and they just don't pick up our recycling a lot of the time," she said.

Sometimes, she's has been able to get in touch with a customer service representative from Smithrite and has been told her recycling wasn't properly sorted. Other times, she gets no response.

"It was very difficult for us to fix any mistakes that we're making," she said.

In the meantime, she says her yellow bag for paper recycling has been stolen, and everyone on the property is trying to cram their paper into a single bag while she waits for Smithrite to deliver a new one.

'We regret the inconvenience to residents'

Smithrite representatives declined to comment. But according to Recycle B.C., which contracts recycling services for the city, the company has had problems finding enough drivers to service all of its routes.

"We recognize there have been collection issues in Vancouver, and we regret the inconvenience to residents. Labour shortages have been affecting the waste management industry, along with many other industries in B.C.," Recycle B.C. spokesperson Lyndsey Chauhan wrote in an email.

"Existing drivers have been filling in on collection routes and new drivers are being hired and trained."

Thanks <a href="https://twitter.com/Smithrite?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Smithrite</a> for your doing your one job. Missed our house two weeks in a row. Funny - house hasn’t moved and when we call you - you still don’t do that one job! It’s ok. We got this one. We’ll send you our bill! <a href="https://t.co/x2oaRgtDuy">pic.twitter.com/x2oaRgtDuy</a> —@MandySarfiRE

Vancouver isn't the only city that's been affected.

Last month, the District of North Vancouver warned residents that there could be "sporadic" delays in Smithrite service, but a spokesperson said those problems seem to have been resolved in the meantime.

As for Mak, she's growing increasingly frustrated and has escalated her complaints.

"We've had to bring our landlord in to actually get involved to have these conversations with Smithrite, because we're not really being successful with this," she said.