Council Talks Trash
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
St. Landry Parish Council members are aware that there is a trash dumping problem in each of the election districts they represent, but solving the issue has become more than perplexing.
Cameras that have been installed at obvious trash sites have evidently not been effective enough to apprehend enough of the offenders and Council-enacted ordinances and fines have not sufficiently stopped the illegal activity.
Council members admitted during a Public Works Committee meeting Wednesday night that more needs to be done to address the amount of discarded material that has been placed alongside parish roadways.
The Council was also provided with visual documentation from photographs provided by the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Commission that shows trash piles that have been created.
Although no action was taken by the Committee, council members said that the large amounts of trash blight requires more of their attention.
Public Works Director Barry Soileau said his employees have dislodged tires, refrigerators and other large trash items from bayous, while their grass cutting sprays smaller items that eventually land on roadways.
“(Soileau) can vouch for my concern about litter in this parish. I’ve also talked to John Guidroz who supervises roads for the Solid Waste Commission. It’s a large problem. People just have to stop putting litter everywhere on the roads,” said Council Chairman Wayne Ardoin.
Council members Mildred Thierry and Nancy Carriere said that residents can call the Solid Waste Commission to request large trash pickups.
Morgan And Morgan, a contractor operating parishwide, is employed by the Commission to pick up large amounts of debris that has been left along roads.
Carriere complained that not enough calls are being made to Morgan and Morgan.
“People are just dumping along the roads and not calling in,” Carriere said.
Thierry said residents in District 4 had no idea that Morgan And Morgan is available with large trucks to collect trash.
“From what I am hearing, people don’t know how to report it. They have no knowledge of what the number is,” said Thierry.
Thierry said she doesn’t know why the parish should have so much litter.
“We shouldn’t have that problem. It’s not that hard to call and schedule a pickup,” Thierry added.
The Morgan And Morgan number can be accessed by clicking on the Solid Waste Commission advertisement on the St. Landry Now.com website.
