NEW ORLEANS— No one thought that residents in New Orleans would be dropping off their own household garbage in the wake of Hurricane Ida, yet here we are.
Resident Matthew Dillon said, “The trash hadn’t been picked up two weeks before the storm and it’s just been piling up and piling up.”
In an effort to alleviate the pile-up of trash in the city, residents are now allowed to drop off their trash bags at the Elysian Fields transfer station from 8am until 3pm at least until the city’s trash contractors can catch up with collections.
Lucas Simmons stopped by, “That’s stuff that came out of the freezer. I needed to try to get that from in front of the door.”
And while some may decide not to pick up the slack that everyone’s already paying for on their water bill, others just want the trash removed from in front of their houses.
“You’re upset about it but there’s nothing you can do. They’re overwhelmed with the COVID stuff, workers aren’t there. We should have service but whatever I can do to help out because I don’t want it front of my door, said resident Otis Simmons.
Workers told us that by 1pm about 100 people had dropped off their garbage and as word spread, the number got larger. Marilyn Melder loaded her trunk to drop off her trash and she wasn’t happy about it but couldn’t take the smell any longer.
“The neighborhood is just cans everywhere and they tell you not to put it in bags because they’re not going to pick it up but you have no other choice the cans are filled. And it’s just smelling up the whole neighborhood,” said Melder.
The address of that transfer station is 2829 Elysian Fields Ave., beneath the overpass near the I-610.
No storm debris is allowed and there is no cost for drop off.
