WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — A Houston County man says a company responsible for picking up waste is the same company responsible for scattering it over his neighborhood.
Trash once kicked to the curb is sticking around in a Houston County neighborhood off Story Road -- scattered trash bags, cans, and even children's old toys.
"What's up here on the side of the road right now, this is what I came home to last Wednesday afternoon matter of fact," William Hardy said, pointing out trash.
Hardy says for years, he's been trying to sort out dirty details of who is responsible for picking up the trash that falls off GFL Environmental trucks, so he took his concerns to the county.
"The county commissioners themselves said that this road is a residential road, it’s not designed for these trash trucks, these heavy trucks, to be going up and down. They proposed maybe they should start taking an alternative route," he said.
GFL Environmental is less than a mile from Hardy's home, so he asked them.
"I said, 'I don't understand how it’s not your responsibility when it’s falling out of your trucks.' Once again, responded it was not their responsibility,” he recalled.
Jake Cox, community planner with the Houston County Board of Commissioners says code enforcement will now step in.
"The public works staff have put in a work order for a crew to come out and clean up the trash in the county's right-of-way. In addition, a code enforcement deputy has also been briefed on the situation,” Cox read to 13WMAZ.
In a perfect world, Hardy says the sanitation station would be moved, but for now, he just wants someone taking accountability.
"If you make a mess, clean it up. I shouldn't have to come home every day and pick up half of a garbage bag of trash out of my front yard," Hardy said.
We reached out to GFL Environmental, but they did not return our calls.
Public Works' full statement reads:
“In regards to the trash along Story Road in Houston County that was reported to have been dropped off from garbage trucks: Senior public works staff have put in a work order for a crew to come out and clean up the trash in the county's right-of-way. In addition, a code enforcement deputy has also been briefed on the situation and has been asked to speak with staff of the solid waste collection company, requesting that the trucks or roll off containers in motion have a cover over collected trash to decreases incidents of trash or debris flying off or out of their trucks.”