JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – With leaders still not reaching an agreement on a garbage contract, trash is starting to pile up across the City of Jackson.
Once again, the Jackson City Council wasn’t able to reach a majority vote on a garbage collection contract. Neighbors packed the latest city council meeting hoping to see leaders come to a resolution.
“We’re all Jacksonians. We all live here, and this is outrageous. Whatever your petty political differences are, they really need to be put aside and the trash needs to be picked up. If I get in my car and take garbage somewhere, I’m not sure where I’m going to take it,” said Horace McMillon, a Jackson neighbor.
Since there are no pickup services, dumpsters were set up in North and South Jackson over the past week. But crews came to collect that garbage and didn’t replace the large dumpsters. Now, garbage bags are piling up where the dumpsters once sat, leaving mountains of trash near homes, businesses and even a school.
“This isn’t the best option. If you don’t see the dumpster, please don’t put your trash out here. It’s not fair to the other people in this community. What’s going on to us in general isn’t fair to the community. We’re common between all the bickering, all the back and forth, all the blaming and finger pointing,” said Greg Griffin, a Jackson neighbor.
Overall, neighbors stressed that they just want their elected officials to put their issues aside for the greater good of citizens they serve.
“They were dug in on their sides and there wasn’t any compromise. Honestly, I don’t see any of this mess being resolved in less than a year. But in the meantime, what are we supposed to do,” said McMillon.
“If we can’t even come to a resolution on something as simple as getting our trash picked up, that just shows me that this isn’t for the people that’s going on inside this building, this is more personal. Because it’s so blatant, it makes me wonder, what’s the next step? After a while, people are going to get more frustrated,” said Jaden Luckett, a Jackson neighbor.
The city plans to put up more temporary dump sites until they get a garbage collection contract in place.