BATON ROUGE - A spokesperson for the city-parish's trash and debris collection company, apologized Wednesday evening for not communicating more with the public and metro council members about recent delays in service.

Karla Swacker with Republic Services said debris crews have been extra busy since Easter, collecting piles of debris and dead vegetation from residents' property. The large increase this year is due to the unusual freezing weather in the region just months ago.

"I've seen tough springs and I've seen easy springs. This has been a tough one," Swacker told council members.

Some residents have waited five weeks for crews to pick up their piles, something that usually happens on a weekly basis.

"They should have communicated with us so we could communicate with our constituents," said Councilwoman Donna Collins-Lewis.

Swacker hopes they're through the worst of the backlog but warns any tropical weather could add to the problem.