Traveling the trashed alleys on Wheeling Island can prove a tricky situation because of spewed trash caused by rodents and by residents not adhering to a critical codified ordinance in the Friendly City.
Under Article 925 in which garbage, rubbish, and designated recyclable material are addressed, requirements for a resident’s trash cans are clearly defined. The ordinance has been in effect in the city of Wheeling for the past 28 years.
925.15 REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTAINERS.
All garbage accumulated or stored for collection shall be deposited in standard containers, which shall be trash cans made of metal or plastic, shall be leakproof and watertight, shall have a capacity of not less than ten gallons nor more than thirty gallons, shall be equipped with adequate carrying handles and tight-fitting covers, and shall weigh less than fifty pounds loaded. All rubbish accumulated or stored for collection shall be deposited in such standard containers, or in boxes or bundles not more than four feet in length and two feet in width, and weighing not more than fifty pounds. All recyclable material shall be deposited in containers approved by the Director of Public Works. Each person or group of persons living together as a family unit in a single dwelling or apartment shall pay six dollars and sixty cents ($6.60) for each container, which charge shall be billed pursuant to the provisions of Section 925.12.
(Ord. 10389. Passed 9-21-93.)
“As part of my ‘Neighborhood’s First’ initiative, cleaning up our streets and alleys are two of the top priorities, and the conditions of some of these alleys is just reprehensible,” insisted Ben Seidler, the Council representative for Ward 2. “You might be thinking, ‘You are not kidding, Ben. I almost got lost in a crater in the back alley last week.’ While potholes in our alleys are annoying and also important to me, the only thing stopping those from being patched is a simple 311 online request or an email or phone call.
“As it turns out, it is much harder to get people to clean up their own messes, or even simply not making their existing messes worse,” he continued. “If you ask me, it is caused by a genuine lack of pride and common courtesy for your neighbor, but even more than that, it is a lack of self-respect.”
More to Trashed Alleys than Trash
Another part of the problem is the debris left along the alleys, and that has included everything from children’s toys to damaged weight benches and old bed frames.
The complaints received by Seidler since he took office in July have been weekly if not daily, and that is because the refuse is ugly and far too often blocks thruway traffic.
“The word trash really only partially describes the issue. Trash is one component, but it is the overabundance of a wide assortment of trash, junk, household items and appliances, clothing, tires, bricks, wood, drywall, paneling, tree limbs, piles of grass and weeds, car parts, needles, animal waste, car parts, broken down vehicles, boats, kitchen cabinets, mattresses, bathtubs, and probably a few kitchen sinks,” the Ward 2 councilman said.
“It is a legitimate problem every day, but it gets better or worse on any other given day, depending on whether it is trash pickup day, or which landlord evicted which resident on any given day.
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“As it pertains to the trash portion itself, the problem is primarily that we have people leaving their trash outside for days without being in a secured trash can with a secured lid. When this happens, animals, rodents, neighbors, and friends tear through the trash bags, and the wind just scatters the trash all over the place for the other neighbors to clean up when it lands in their yards. This is a huge issue, and it is ridiculous,” Seidler said. “If the trash goes out before trash day, it needs to be secured in real trash cans with real lids. It is that simple.”
Who is to blame? Is it the homeowners? The renting residents? Landlords who clear units of what was left behind by evicted tenants?
“Trash offenders come in all shapes and sizes. Homeowners. Tenants. Landlords. Homeless. Visitors. Dealers. Junkies. I would say that the majority of the people here care about their property and respect their neighbors enough to keep their places clean and neat,” Seidler said. “The problem is that all it takes are a few per block to bring down the rest of the neighborhood.
“We certainly have a number slumlords with multiple properties that are some of the worst offenders in the neighborhood,” he said. “These are the same slumlords and properties over and over and over, and while they are not the only problem, I think it is pretty clear that they seem to feel that they are above the law, or that holding their tenants accountable to a reasonable level of standards relative to trash and property maintenance is not their responsibility.”
The Fix?
Seidler speaks of his “Neighborhoods First” often, and he has been aggressive with his efforts to reform the city’s code enforcement practices so the process gets streamlined thanks to technology. Such a system would require one of Wheeling’s code enforcement officers to report a violation with a hand-held device that would electronically send the information to city offices.
The councilman is hopeful the new system can be implemented this year because he believes it will lead not only to more accountability but also to an increased amount of pride that could prove contagious.
“The awareness of the problem is very well known,” Seidler said. “We have scheduled a large-scale Wheeling Island Day of Cleaning for April 24th. As for the rest of the problem, let’s just say that help is on the way.
“But, hey, I get it,” he added. “I am sure the slumlords are exhausted from carrying, counting, and spending all the cash that their other dumps rake in. Who could possibly be expected to focus on the upkeep and take care of all of these properties when they are trying to run a business?”
