Residents of a Prince George’s County neighborhood say trash piled up for weeks without pickup and their complaints about it were ignored.
Several neighbors on Oak Glen Way in District Heights, Maryland, said the called 311 and emailed the county because their trash hadn’t been picked up since June 28.
“And then they give you a call center to call for help, and you call, and there’s no help,” said Harold Scott Jr., who was checking on his parents.
“Kind of disgusting, actually,” said. “Leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”
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Neighbors say their complaints were not addressed, and the trash was still there.
“I called at least three times, and the response were a little bit of, a little bit apathetic,” Scott said. “Some of the other neighbors reported to me that they had been flat out insulted.”
News4 contacted the Prince George’s County Department of the Environment. A spokesperson said she would look into the complaints, and about an hour-and-a-half later, a trash truck arrived.
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Scott said he was relieved but frustrated by the experience.
“Thankfully, you guys were able to get the ball rolling,” he said.
News4 also received similar complaints about lack of trash pickup in the Lake Arbor community.
“Well, it’s smelly,” resident Abiola Fanimokun. “When the wind blows and you pass by, the stench, it’s in your nose.”
The Department of the Environment sent News4 a statement saying trash collection days had recently changed: “The first week of transitioning to our new waste collection services has been challenging for our employees and contractors for various reasons. We consolidated service routes and had to slide two collection days due to the holiday. In addition, the excessive heat conditions have played a critical role in some of our delayed collections.”
The county disputed claims that pickups had been missed for three weeks. The spokesperson said crews are working to get all trash picked up as quickly as possible and asked for patience.
“Hopefully, they can get on schedule and they can get things going and this doesn’t happen again,” Scott said.
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