RICHMOND – The labor shortage affecting businesses nationwide brought an abrupt end to recycling provided by Republic Services, Richmond City Council members learned during a Nov. 23 meeting. “There was a shift in direction,” City Administrator Tonya Willim told the council, based on information from Republic. “They’re facing a nationwide shortage of drivers. … To cut to the chase, they’re no longer going to do (most) recycling services inside city limits.” Republic has 20 drivers, but 20% of them fail to show up for work, she said, making the situation frustrating and inconvenient for the public. Willim said the city could not find an alternative. “There’s no way to go with different services,” she said, describing “an overall mess.” The lack of recycling has an upside. “They reassured us that, by not picking up recycling, the drivers that they use for that would be more consistent … with picking up,” Willim said. “I have no idea what to say. It’s just the situation that we’re in. It…