Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Trash cleanup complaints make it to City Council

by: Shay Arthur

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — WREG has heard from dozens of viewers who said they’ve been waiting weeks and some said even months for their bulk, curbside trash to be removed by the City of Memphis.

It’s something City Council members talked about in Tuesday’s meeting. Council members said they’re hearing about it too, and everyone is pushing for a solution.

Katrina Cole and her neighbors are sick and tired of seeing debris.

“It’s going on almost three months now,” Cole said.

She said her neighbors have been complaining to the City of Memphis about the piles of debris in their Whitehaven neighborhood. 

“And the bags have disintegrated because of the heat and sun,” Cole said.  

So, they asked WREG to help. We asked the city what’s going on, and on Tuesday, so did City Council members. 

“My constituents want to know what’s going to happen right now to clean up the situation that we’re in? That was good to tell me about the past but we’re dealing with this right now so what can we expect in their neighborhoods,” Councilmember Cheyenne Johnson asked.

In a presentation, sanitation officials acknowledged they’re experiencing delays in the southern portion of the city.

Councilwoman Jamita Swearengen said she’s been in contact with members of the sanitation department. 

“I did a drive-through of Orange Mound last week and I almost cried,” Swearengen said.

She put one on speaker phone during a committee meeting.

“They always send you, when you’re working in the south they send you to the east,” Swearengen said.

In a statement to WREG, the city apologized. They said increased residential volume and the recent holidays have caused collection delays.

They went on to say, to remedy this, the City of Memphis has activated its supplemental contractor to assist crews, as well as deployed routing technology with City crews to allow for better asset utilization. 

We apologize for any waste collection delays customers may be experiencing. Increased residential volume and the recent holidays have slowed our collection efforts. We are experiencing service delays with some cart and bulk waste pick-up.  Our Solid Waste team is working diligently to resolve these issues. To remedy this, the City of Memphis has activated its supplemental contractor to assist our crews, as well as deployed routing technology with City crews to allow for better asset utilization. Your patience is greatly appreciatedSTATEMENT FROM THE CITY OF MEMPHIS

The council plans to discuss this issue again in the coming weeks.

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