It was certainly was an eye-sore -- dozens of trash bags and old tires blocking off Hendrie street on Detroit’s east side.
It looked like a classic case of illegal dumping. But upon investigating, we learned it was all placed with a purpose.
Anna Kohn says it was all part of a clean-up effort on the part of her organization, Recovery Park. The organization commissioned volunteers to pick up large amounts of blighted trash and construction debris.
But instead of putting it near the curb for pick up, Kohn says they put trash in the middle of the street because putting it out for pickup on the curb hasn't worked in the past. And blocking the street, they feel, is often the best way it’ll get hauled off.
Recovery Park is looking to prep the area, between Warren and I-94 with for a new project in which they'll transform the land into a site for green-houses.
But with endless amounts of illegal trash dumped in the area, and it virtually being un-serviced by city dumpster trucks, Kohn says the clean up for that project has been quite a task.
We reached out to the City of Detroit for comment and they acknowledged that these kinds of open areas present a challenge when it comes to illegal dumping, but that it's something they take very seriously, saying in a statement to Channel 7 that, “Each week we remove more than 500 tons of illegal dumping... We are happy to work with any organization that is willing to help move dumped material to the curb so we can coordinate a...time to pick it up..”
The city went on to say that they would be sharing this info with Detroit police departments, while requesting additional patrols to help.
