Dozens of Prince George’s County, Maryland, residents dealing with the sights and smells of uncollected trash for a good chunk of the summer unwrapped their frustration at a public meeting Monday night.
Angel Nelson, who lives in the Fairwood section of Prince George’s County, said she’s had problems for months: “Our trash day was changed to Thursday, however not once did our trash get picked up Thursday.”
Nelson said when the trash did get picked up, often the haulers did not completely empty her cans, leaving trash — including dog poop bags — in the street. She said that discarded animal waste would then get run over by cars, creating even more of a mess.
Resident Monica Roebuck, who said she has also had problems, quipped “We used to be gorgeous Prince George’s, but we’re no longer gorgeous.”
Resident Gigi Lyons, said one trash collector even tried to get her to pay more to pick up her trash — a service that she already pays for: “‘You got some money?’ I said, ‘No, I do not.’ So he left all of (the trash) sitting on the curb.”
Monday’s meeting was held at Lake Arbor Elementary School in Mitchellville. It was sponsored by Prince George’s County Council member Wala Blegay, who said her trash has also not been picked up at times since the county changed trash contracts on July 1.
Floyd Holt, the county’s deputy chief administrative officer, addressed the issue at a county council meeting earlier in the day: “I will say right up front, there were some unexpected hiccups. Trash is a big business and it’s a hard business.”
Andrea Crooms, director of the county’s office of the environment, told the council members that there have been problems, but said her office is trying to fix the issues with better strategic planning and other tools:
“We have the ability to issue fines, and we’re going to issue fines if they’re not doing what they are supposed to do,” she said.
Crooms said that over the summer, and especially in July, haulers dealt with crew issues due to the heat. Meanwhile, other haulers had supply chain issues in securing enough trucks. She also said some crews missed homes as trash removal workers learned new routes.
Resident Janet Gingold, who attended the meeting later on at the school, said she had her share of problems this summer, but suggested maybe more patience is needed: “I really appreciate those guys, I mean they have a really hard job to do and all they get is complaints, complaints, complaints.”
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