CHARLOTTE — Most people who live in Mecklenburg County take out their trash once a week and wait for it to be picked up. But at the Vista Villas apartment complex in east Charlotte, there's been an issue with those pickups.
They haven’t happened.
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“I was desperately hoping something would be fixed,” resident Rhonda Washington said.
Washington, who has lived at the complex for six years, sent Channel 9 images of piles of trash sitting idle for three weeks. Appliances, food and children’s toys were sprawled out among five dumpsters on the 238-unit property.
When Washington couldn’t get answers, she contacted Eyewitness News, concerned for her health and safety.
“It’s dangerous trying to take out the garbage and you’ve got to defend yourself between possums and stray dogs and a coyote or two,” she said.
Channel 9 called the complex several times since Thursday morning with no answer. But when our crew arrived at the complex on Friday morning, the property manager said she could explain.
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According to management, the delay was caused by a mix-up with the trash pickup company. On Friday, a dumpster truck began hauling off the items.
“I am relieved. I am very relieved,” Washington told Channel 9. “Thank you.”
There is several weeks’ worth of items that still need to be sorted through, but Washington said it’s a step in the right direction.
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