DETROIT – Residents of the Fitzgerald neighborhood on Detroit’s west side are grappling with a pressing issue-a massive heap of trash that has been accumulating in the heart of their block.
Neighbors said illegally dumped trash and bulky items have been piling in front of a boarded house and vacant lot for months. They want the trash removed.
Neighbor Daryl Hunter said, “There’s tables. There are chairs. There are clothes. There’s food mixed in. Canned goods.”
Neighbors described the trash pile as messy and hazardous.
The mound of trash includes bags of household waste, rotting meat, dirty diapers, old furniture, and other junk drawing pests like rats, flies, and other insects.
“It’s flies flying around it,” Hunter said. “It’s bad.”
Neighbors said they’d like the trash removed.
A spokesperson for Detroit’s Building, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department, or BSEED, told Local 4 that the property was inspected on May 29.
A ticket was issued and handed to the Department of Public Works on May 30.
According to the city of Detroit, a crew will start working on the trash removal on Saturday, June 1.
The representative from the city of Detroit also said since the trash is piling outside of a privately owned house, the property owner will be fined.
New curbside trash pickup changes are scheduled to go into effect on June 3.
The city doesn’t want dumping to become a greater problem.
Click here for details about the new curbside changes and how to report illegal dumping.