A Chattanooga dump truck leaves Chattanooga and C&D landfill complex in Harrison, TN.Question: Whatever happened to the landfill cleanup on Birchwood Pike?
A. Constant dump truck traffic from the city landfill on Birchwood Pike in Harrison has historically left a treacherous trail of rubbish, mud and fist-sized stones.
But cleanup efforts made by Chattanooga staff in early March started to give residents hope that the city was going to start keeping up its landfill in the unincorporated county, some 20 miles outside the city's center.
Betty Arendale said Wednesday the situation has improved.
She lives on the 9300 block of Birchwood Pike, less than a mile from the landfill's entrance.
The mud and large stones are gone, but litter is still a problem, she said.
"They are doing better keeping it swept, but they are still not picking up the papers like they should," Arendale said.
But Lynn Bishop, a neighbor of Arendale's, has a different story.
"I can't even use my front porch because of the filth. We can't open our windows," Bishop said.
To boot, Bishop said a pile of used syringes sat in front of her driveway for weeks before they were removed.
Sanitation manager Justin Holland said the city tries to keep the area clean.
"We maintain Birchwood Pike adjacent to the landfill and operate a sweeper five days a week on the roads interior to the landfill and Birchwood Pike."
But mud mitigation is a daily problem, and as for litter, Holland said his crews monitor that, too.
This update was written by staff writer Louie Brogdon. Contact him at lbrogdon@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6481.
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