Families in New Tampa are worried glass left in the middle of the road by a recycling truck is putting their children, pets and even cars in danger.
They tell us they've called the county several times to get it fixed but nothing is being done. “We have to worry about our kids getting cut,” said Ann McLaughlin.
“Its been happening for quite some time, its just now its risen to the level where its completely ridiculous,” said Tim McLaughlin.
Several neighbors are even cleaning up the mess themselves, but say its happening too often. They're tired of cleaning up the mess they say shouldn't be happening to begin with.
When we stopped by you could still see the remnants of the glass in the road, but pictures sent to us show a much bigger problem. Tim and Ann McLaughlin are just some of the residents upset.
“I think what tipped the scale for us was where the glass just spread across the street where you would have to walk through the street to get to the other sidewalk,” said Ann.
They consider it an accident waiting to happen.
“The tires are just crunching, glass everywhere. I mean we’re having to swerve around it. I just couldn’t believe it,” Tim said.
The recycling company responsible, Republic Services, is contracted by the county. Residents say they’ve told them about this ongoing problem and were told it wouldn’t happen again. It has, and residents want something done.
“When we woke up today nothing was cleaned up,” said Ann.
When ABC Action News contacted the county, we spoke to Damien Tramel, general manager of residential solid waste services. He said the county wasn’t aware of the issue but contacted Republic Services, which has received several complaints.
The county says it will work with the recycling company to make sure this doesn’t continue.
Tramel said he agrees with residents, saying it’s unacceptable.
Until then, Tim said he’ll clean what he can but hopes the county will stick to its word.
“I’ll clean it up just because I’m being a good neighbor, but it's not my responsibility to clean up something that I’m expecting to send out to be recycled," Tim said.
