MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Homeowners in one East Memphis neighborhood feel left out when it comes to their curbside trash pickup.

David Williams was stacking and re-stacking bags of leaves and debris as he waited in vain for City of Memphis’ curbside trash collection to show up at his home on Cheekwood Avenue.

“It looks like clutter. It looks like blight. It just doesn’t look attractive to the neighborhood,” Williams said.

Williams said there’s been no curbside yard waste pickup since January in his neighborhood and he’s tired of looking at the mountain of trash nearly blocking the view of his house.

“I’d just like to know why they keep skipping it. We’re paying forty bucks. Why don’t they finish the service,” he said.

The frustration was shared by neighbor Barbara Murphy, who loves her flowers but hates the pile of yard debris stretching the length of her sidewalk.

“I have called the 311 every week. They’re saying they’re going to report it and they’ll have somebody out. I’ve been going since January too,” Murphy said.

David Williams said he’s waited long enough and decided to call WREG for help. We reached out to the City of Memphis and received a response Monday afternoon, saying, “This location will be serviced tomorrow. Due to seasonal increases in volume, like spring cleaning and leaf season, yard waste and bulky items are normally delayed.  During peak season, our crews are working hard to collect these items.”

Williams will be glad to see the trash gone after it managed to kill the grass in part of his yard.

“I’m waiting on them to pick it up and I’ll put grass seed down,” he said.

We’re told each week the Solid Waste Management Department serves about 450,000 people, making 169,000 residential stops and 5,000 commercial stops, and collects waste and recycling on time 99.8% of the time.

Memphis City Councilwoman Rhonda Logan said she is also frustrated by the lack of reliable trash pickup in the area and has met with the director of Solid Waste and representatives from Team Waste. Read her full statement below:

“I am once again left frustrated by the lack of quality and reliable service that is being provided to the residents of Area E, which encapsulates parts of District 1 in Northern Cordova. However, I know my frustration does not come close to the frustration felt by those residents without reliable service. 

On April 13th I held an emergency virtual meeting with the City of Memphis Solid Waste director and representatives from Team Waste to answer residents’ questions and hear their concerns. It was a productive meeting, and I will be looking into holding more until these service issues are resolved. 

We will continue to hear service updates at our City Council meetings from the Mayor’s Administration who oversee our Solid Waste service and our relationship with our contractor; as well as updates about the Administration’s current bid for a new contractor in this area. I am a team player and believe we need “all hands on deck” to address this crisis of essential service.

I ask all constituents with service problems, especially those in the Cordova area to please email or call my office so we can help address this issue immediately.” 

On Tuesday, Williams sent us photos of city crews picking up the curbside trash.