Garbage Keeps Piling Up In West Loop Alley; Residents Say It's Been A Problem For Months
CHICAGO (CBS) -- CBS 2 got a tip about garbage routinely piling up in a West Loop neighborhood.
Sure enough, bags of putrid refuse were found overflowing in an alley near Washington and Aberdeen.
Got a gross tip this morning about an overflowing trash pile in the West Loop near Washington and Aberdeen. People in the neighborhood tell me it's been a recurring problem here for months. I'm calling the city to try to get some answers and see if they can clean it up. pic.twitter.com/zIVmxsWQl5
— Tim McNicholas (@TimMcNicholas) August 9, 2019
CBS 2 called the city and minutes later, city Streets and Sanitation workers pulled up and cleaned the mess.
Cleanup time. pic.twitter.com/OvVDWmHXQT
— Tim McNicholas (@TimMcNicholas) August 9, 2019
"This one's been here for weeks ... new bags of garbage are added it to it. It decomposes down. it spreads, it oozes," said resident, Moshe Tamssot. "It continues to collect over weeks."
The city told CBS 2 that the garbage cans in the alley are not part of a schedule garbage route. The nearby building is supposed to arrange for private garbage pickup.
Ald. Walter Burnett said the cans were not even supposed to be there.
"Somebody took some city garbage cans," Burnett said, "and put them out on the corner. Everybody's just been throwing garbage in them."
Streets and Sanitation says the city had already removed garbage cans in June after a complaint. City records show 13 reports to 311 since May for what is listed in the records as missed garbage pickup in the alley.
Burnett said he did not know about the can removal in June. A city spokesperson said somebody must have moved the cans there since.