Residents of one Davenport neighborhood are asking Polk County to clean up its act after going nearly a month without trash pick-up.
“You can see most people’s trash is just overflowing. You can see all the flies; it’s just really nasty,” said Cory Yurgelonis.
Trash bins in the Preservation Point community are spilling over with garbage. Cory Yurgelonis said their trash has not been collected in nearly four weeks.
“It’s really frustrating because without the communication, we were just putting our trash out like normal and after the second week of in the sun, just the smell. There's trash everywhere blowing around, and I really don’t like talking about it, but now they’re maggots,” said Yurgelonis.
He fears raccoons and other critters will start showing up. Yurgelonis said residents have filed complaints to the county but said they have not gotten an answer as to when their trash will be picked up and what’s causing the delay.
“We’ve reached out to Polk County, the waste management company, and hold times have been five, six, seven hours. Unfortunately, the real frustrating part is you hold all day and at 5 o’clock you get disconnected,” Yurgelonis said.
Yurgelonis is now having to haul his own trash to his work, where he can dispose of it in a dumpster.
“I’m going through maggot-infested garbage and then have to transport it in your own vehicle. No, we should not; that’s what our tax dollars are for,” he said.
Trash removal has been an ongoing issue in Polk County. Back in February, County Commissioners declared a local state of emergency after they received thousands of complaints about missed collections by trash hauler FCC Environmental Service.
The County Commission is set to meet on October 25 to discuss "the next generation of hauling contracts." ABC Action News reached out to the Polk County Commission and have not heard back.
Yurgelonis said the county needs to do a better job of communicating with residents.
“Let us know what’s going on just so we can plan better. We understand there might be times where things are hard but let us know. We can take care of ourselves but just help us,” he said.
According to Waste & Recycling Director Ana Wood, Waste Management, Inc. has brought seven additional trucks in to collect garbage and recycling on Friday, with 16 additional routes planning to run on Saturday.
Waste Management, Inc. said they expect to be back on their regular collection schedules on Tuesday, October 25.
