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Memphis man waits weeks for yard waste pickup

By Jamel Major - bio | email | Twitter | Facebook

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - After weeks without garbage pickup, a Memphis man had enough.  Wednesday morning, Joe Larkins said several bags of grass and tree limbs had been sitting along the curb near his front lawn since August 7.

"It's been extremely frustrating because we try to keep the grounds around our home looking nice," Larkins said.

Fed up, Larkins decided to take matters into his own hands, placing signs in his front yard he hoped would send a strong message to the city.  The signs clearly state, "Yard Waste Last Picked Up August 7th."

"I wanted to embarrass them, hoping that somebody would say as they're driving by, 'We can't believe that,'" Larkins said.

But less than an hour after Action News 5 called the Memphis' Public Works Department to inquire about Larkins' problem, crews showed up to remove the waste. 

"Any delay for that length of time is unacceptable," said Andy Ashford, Deputy Director of Solid Waste Management.

The city of Memphis switched to a new waste system in July.  According to Ashford, "Even though the June 12th storm has gone, and the tornado that hit out in East Memphis has passed, there are still things that are occurring as people continue to have the mind set of continuing to put material out."

Ashford said the biggest challenge for the department has been handling the massive volume of trash.

"Timing has been an issue since we made changes in the routes and restructuring," he said.

But for residents like Larkins, patience is the key.

"I'm much happier now they've picked it up," he said.

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