West Bexar County – Three days after KSAT reported on a short-staffed trash hauler’s weeks-long backlog on pickups, the owners told customers they are filing for bankruptcy and that their already-delayed pickups would not ever be happening.
In a Monday morning email, Warrior Disposal’s owners told customers, “There are things out of our control and we have been fighting these situations for years and it has taken a toll on our family and finances. One of the most critical things is finding people who are available, willing and want to work.”
“We have been talking to lawyers about our situation and we have no choice but to file for bankruptcy at this time,” they wrote farther down in the email. “We will not be able to continue with picking up trash and this will take place immediately.”
An online search of court records Monday evening showed no bankruptcy case has been filed yet under either the company or the owners’ name.
The company’s website has since been taken down, though, and text messages and phone calls to the owners were not returned as of publication time.
READ MORE: Warrior Disposal customers fed up with trash piling up
The email message made no mention of refunds to customers or how to return their trash and recycling bins beyond asking customers not to drop them at addresses that “may have been published at social media.”
“We do not own the yard where we are parked and the house you keep vandalizing is not our place of residence,” the email states.
Warrior Disposal started up in 2019 and touted itself as “veteran-owned,” something customers told KSAT had attracted them to the company in the first place.
Joseph Gonzalez, who owns the company with his Navy veteran wife, told KSAT on Friday that Warrior had nearly 5,000 customers, but it was down to just three employees out in the field from a high of 16.
That meant that out of the seven trucks his company had, only one was actually out operating on Friday. Some customers told KSAT they had not had a trash pickup for multiple weeks.
When KSAT asked Friday if he was concerned about the future of his business, given how many customers were upset with the delays, Gonzalez said “I’m just concerned on the day-to-day right now. I mean, our creditors are great people -- great people to work with. They have been helping us tremendously. The problem is, is just getting people to work. That’s all. People just need to want to work, and we’re here. I mean, apply. You know, show up, and we’ll put you to work.”