JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Residents who live behind Colonial Mart Shopping Center off Old Canton Road say they have been complaining about trash overflow for years.

Japonica Waters says she started noticing the problem about six months after moving into her home three years ago.

“I wake up to trash being in my yard, rodents, smells just everything disgusting,” Waters said.

Trash is not the only thing that ends up in her yard. Waters says she has noticed 18-wheelers using her yard to back into the parking lot.

“I shouldn’t have to be forced to put a gate up and spend money out of my pocket for their trash not to blow in my yard. I shouldn’t wake up to phone calls and videos of 18-wheelers pulling in my yard because trash they can’t get around. I would like for it to be handled,” she said. “It’s disgusting. I’m tired of it. I can’t do anything at my house. I can’t host family events. It’s an extreme embarrassment. “

Waters also mentioned she was told a fence would be built two and a half years ago, but that never happened.

According to Jackson City Code, all refuse areas with receptacles (dumpsters) should be completely screened from the street and from adjacent properties by a solid wood or masonry fence of at least six feet in height.

It also states dumpsters shall remain inside the enclosure at all times and be kept in good condition and appearance.

Jackson mayor, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, assures residents that cleaning up the capital city is a top priority for them, but there is only so much the administration can do.

“We often send out crews to clean up those things on our own. The challenge becomes when people go out and dump again… We can’t police the areas 24 hours a day,“ Lumumba said. “When that happens, then the onus and responsibility comes on the ownership to secure the area in a sufficient way that that doesn’t continue to happen.”

We reached out to the property manager of Colonial Mart Shopping Center. He responded, “No comment.”

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