Fire Departments Speak Out Against Community Dumpsters After Misuse

Trash is piled on top and around the dumpsters at Kyrock today.

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
Two local fire departments are speaking out against the county wide cleanup event that wrapped up today after tons of garbage were dumped on the grounds next to the dumpsters and around fire department property after the containers were filled. 

Mike Clubb, member of Kyrock Fire Department and a coordinator of the event said misuse of the event will cause fire department members and other community volunteers to have to not only clean up the excess trash, but also provide a destination for it to be placed.

"We said absolutely no dumping on the ground and all the dumpsters were clearly marked for the fill line," Clubb said. "Instead, we have people dumping trash everywhere, all over the fire department property, overflowing the dumpsters, it's a shame. Scott Waste won't haul the dumpsters if they're overflowing. They have to be level full, so anything above level has to be removed and placed somewhere else."

He said garbage of all sorts, shapes, and sizes were scattered all around the overflowing dumpsters and fire departments throughout the county. Kyrock and Chalybeate seemed to be misused the most.

Junk and garbage is scattered all around Chalybeate Fire Dept at the dumpster site.

Carl Lindsey with the Chalybeate Fire Department just pointed to the Chalybeate dumpsters while shaking his head.

"If this is how this program is going to be used, this fire department is against it," he said. "If the county is going to put this on then they're the ones that need to see to it. We can't have someone at the fire department all the time watching people. It's a shame that this is done to try to help the county and people mistreat it like this."

The event was advertised on the Edmonson Voice and got a huge response. In the flyer, it plainly stated, "Absolutely no dumping on the ground, no chemicals, no tires. Dumping on the ground can result in littering fines."

All dumpsters' fill lines were clearly marked.

​Lindsey said those dumping on the ground should have to pay hefty fines.

"I've got a hundred dollar bill for every name turned in that the county could catch with a $500 fine dumping this stuff out on our property," he said. "Firefighters are out here as volunteers and we offer our property for this program. You see what we're dealing with now," he said as he pointed to piles of smelly garbage on the ground.

Clubb said that the amount of trash scattered around was enough to fill several more dumpsters. Scott Waste provided two dumpsters at each fire department earlier in the week.

Lindsey said he planned on attending the next fiscal court meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, April 24th at 9am to speak to the court in person to voice his concerns.

"This has to stop," he said. "I know the majority of people use this how its supposed to be used, but it only takes a few to ruin it for everybody."

While at both Kyrock and Chalybeate today taking photos, there was a steady stream of folks arriving to dump their garbage in the overflow, but since there were fire department members at both stations, they were turned away with trucks and trailer loads full of junk.

The county and Scott Waste join together each year to bring the free service to Edmonson County. Unless there are major policy changes to the event, Clubb said it's likely to be discontinued.

"This is something we do to help our county, but if it can't be done right we'll have to stop it," he said.

​*Comments without a first and last name and an email address are not published. All comments are subject for review and must adhere to the Edmonson Voice commenting policy which is posted on this site.