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'It's a fire hazard': Illegal dumping in downtown Macon upsets neighbors

Furniture, televisions, mattresses, and toilets are some of the things dumped at Third Street Lane and Hazel Street.

MACON, Ga. — One Macon woman says illegal dumping in her neighborhood downtown has gotten out of control.

Betty Freeman lives in a home at the corner of Hazel Street and Third Street Lane.

Freeman attended a 13WMAZ Listening Lab session on Tuesday at Tattnall Square Park. She told us the trash left on Third Street Lane seems to be getting worse.

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"It's all over the place," Freeman said. 

Freeman says she can hardly recognize Third Street Lane next to her house because the trash has taken over.

"Within the past two years, it's gotten worse. Like I said, it started off small and then it's increasing," Freeman said. 

She's seen furniture, televisions, mattresses, and toilets dumped there. 

Macon-Bibb County spokesperson Chris Floore says the county has had to clean up the road three times since July 2019. He says the solid waste department last responded to a complaint made in December. 

"It's a health hazard. It's a safety hazard. It's a fire hazard," Freeman said. 

Freeman says she called and emailed the county about a week ago because her neighborhood is starting to feel like a dumping ground.

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"I've even had all kinds of rodents coming in my home. I had snakes coming in because of this," she said.

Freeman believes people dump their trash at night. She says she wants the county to install lights, cameras, and signs that say dumping is prohibited along the road.

"I don't want to have to move because of this," she said. 

Floore says the solid waste department plans to clean up the area again in the next couple of days.

You can report problems like this on seeclickfix.com.

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