Dumpsters Neighborhood Eyesore

District F Ouachita Parish Police Juror Lonnie Hudson says that garbage/trash containers located in several parish neighborhoods are an eyesore and make the residential areas unattractive. The containers are really commercial dumpsters, used by some residents in parish neighborhoods such as Tanglewood and Charmingdale, as other residents in those neighborhoods use regular-size trash cans, the kind that riders pick up and empty. Those dumpsters being used in the areas mentioned are the kind that garbage trucks equipped with hooks or blades can lift up and empty directly into the truck's garbage compartment. Those dumpsters are usually the kind one would see behind businesses in either locked gates or standing alone. Hudson said he had heard many complaints made by concerned residents who say that the dumpsters do nothing to enhance the neighborhoods because they are for commercial use. With regular garbage cans, residents can store them behind their homes, but the larger dumpsters are right there on the curb in front of their homes. Hudson also said that the trucks used to empty the dumpsters are causing damage to the streets. "It looks bad," Hudson said. "It is even worse when other people come and empty their garbage into the containers, making them overflow with waste.

Residents with large dumpsters in front of their homes have a contract with Get Rid Of It, a garbage collection agency that deployed commercial dumpsters in the affected neighborhoods. An ordinance affecting Garbage District No. 1 did not stipulate which company residents could use, but now Hudson says that needs to change. Hudson is hoping that his fellow Jurors will support him in getting residents to enter into contracts with other garbage collectors that use regular garbage cans that are no bigger than a 100-gallon capacity can. A new proposed ordinance has not been written. Residents will be given ample time to voice their concerns before a vote is taken. Hudson says that it is important that residents use the size containers recommended; he aims to get those residents to understand the value of having an attractive neighborhood because it is a good selling point to bring in new businesses.