JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — People who live in the Westside neighborhood of Cherokee Cove Trail are growing impatient.
The longer they wait for yard waste pickup, the larger the collection sits outside their homes. Dores Hicks says it's been a month since the mountain of trash bags were left outside.
"We just don't get anything," Hicks complained. "A lot of us take pride in our yards, and we want our neighborhoods to look nice."
So does Cherrie McKenzie, who said the yard waste in her English Estates neighborhood was neglected. To the Westside resident, it is an annoyance that's been boiling for two weeks.
"It's so upsetting when you do so much as you possibly can to keep your property up and then at no fault of your own, litter develops," McKenzie said.
It is a frustration city officials know all too well. Just like the trash bags, Councilman Matt Carlucci said his e-mails are stacked with complaints.
"Really, from the mayor's office to the council, we're doing as much as we can," the councilman sighed.
First Coast News reached out to the city regarding the two neighborhoods and its yard waste. The city of Jacksonville said its records show two active missed yard waste collections in Hicks' neighborhood.
As for where McKenzie lives, the COJ didn't have a record of active missed yard waste collections. However, it said the most recent missed trash collection was March 22.
In a statement, the city said: "The last week in March, there were 1003 missed yard waste complaints. That’s one half of a percent of our customer base. (0.50) While we strive to ensure timely pick up of all types of waste and recycling, this would not impact the return of curbside recycling pick up to our nearly 300,000 households."
To Hicks, the response from the city is "a lot of malarkey".
Councilman Carlucci is asking Jacksonville residents to remain patient and log every missed pick-up. Homeowners are looking forward to Friday, hoping the plastic blights will disappear.