When you leave trash out, all sorts of bugs and critters can come crawling. Residents at a Mandarin apartment complex say trash has been building up there for weeks, even though a trash service is contracted to pick it up.
Residents of the complex contacted the On Your Side team looking for help.
“We put our trash out every night and it’s supposed to be picked up every night by nine," Tanya Buckley said. "Nine times out of ten, it’s not picked up."
Buckley has called Oasis of Mandarin home since June and says the sight of garbage bags and swatting mosquitos has become an almost daily nuisance.
“The trash has been an issue since I moved in," she said.
First Coast News received photos from another concerned resident showing the complex’s trash overflowing over the weekend.
“They store tires behind the trash compactor which is a huge mosquito infestation," Buckley said. "There [are] tons of mosquitos that are everywhere, wild cats, trashed piled up everywhere."
Buckley's taken her health concerns to management.
“I’ve stopped in the office and called and I’ve spoken with other staff in the office, but [I] get absolutely no response to when it will be taken [or] when it will be taken care of," she said.
The complex manager told the On Your Side team that rust has built up in the compactor they rent from a company in Arizona and it needs to be replaced.
“I don’t know if that compactor has ever worked," Buckley said.
A representative visited the property on Oct. 2 and said the trash needed to be removed to make the repair.
Oasis of Mandarin called in Advanced Disposal, which does regular pick-ups at the complex, and the waste disposal company cleared up the mess at that time. The manager said Advanced Disposal does pickups at the complex every twelve days.
The manager said she has not been able to get in touch with Greenleaf Compaction which owns the compacter so there’s no update on the possible repair time.
First Coast News reached out to Greenleaf Compaction and were told they are not allowed to comment on ongoing repairs.
The manager of Oasis at Mandarin said she’s not happy, and said it’s embarrassing that this has happened, but they are doing all they can for their residents.
The complex has cleared some of the trash and Buckley hopes what remains will be picked up soon.
“Our leases say that the trash will be removed weekly since I’ve lived here in the three months, it has not been removed weekly, this is the first time I’ve seen it even half empty," she said.
The manager says the complex has been at about 98 percent occupancy for three decades and staff is here for their community. She added there is a limit to how much stuff can be picked up at a time by Advanced Disposal. The complex credited Advanced Disposal for responding as fast as they have to clean up trash when they've been called out to the complex.