If you live in a sub division in Middle Tennessee, chances are you have this same problem. It has to do with unsolicited newspapers, periodicals and advertising fliers that seemingly litter streets, lawns and sidewalks.
After picking up dozens of discarded periodicals on a recent dog walk, Steve Yaeger couldn’t take it anymore, and the Murfreesboro man called Messed Up. The day Andy met with Yaeger, he pulled out a rolling cooler filled with 3 to 4 dozen deteriorating periodicals that he has picked up on his daily dog walk.
“It litters the place. These rot, turn to pulp. The cars run over them. If someone throws something in my yard I consider it littering. And they fill up the landfill.”
Yaeger said he has tried calling various publications but nothing changed. The 55 year old said he wants the option of “opting in” to such a program, rather than getting the unsolicited material without his permission and then having to contact the companies to make them stop.
Messed Up contacted several publications. Mike Pirtle with the Murfreesboro Post took our call and seemed very concerned about Mr. Yaeger’s complaints.
Pirtle tolds us that this paper is free to everyone, but if someone does not wish to revieve the paper, they can place a request either by phone of online. The Murfreesboro Post works hard to honor these requests, and carriers are also instructed not to throw papers on driveways where papers have not been picked up. If there is an area where the pickup rate is not strong, The Murfreesboro Post will not deliver there, and will focus circulation on areas where the papers are wanted. Since they deliver to such a large and changing area, this requires constant monitoring by the circulation manager. It can be difficult to keep up, which is why the paper welcomes help from the public.
We also spoke to Bob Faricy at the DNJ.
The DNJ is a subscription-based paper, meaning that people either buy the paper in the store or order a subscription for deliveries to their home. However, the company also has a TNC product, which is a free paper that is distributed to specific areas. Faricy estimated that this TNC product is delivered by hundreds of carriers in five counties. If a customer does not wish to receive a paper or the TNC they can call in and request this and the delivery is halted.
Is it littering? Is it business? Is it the responsibility of the company? Is it the responsibility of the residents?
We wanted some answers on a topic that seems to have a lot of grey area, so we contacted Rutherford County Commissioner Ronald Williams. The District 8 representative said he brought this issue up at a March 2nd meeting with other county leaders.
Here’s what Williams told Messed Up at the Channel 2 studio:
“It is an aggravation. Everyone has this problem and they don’t know what to do about it.”
“I read the law,” Andy told Williams, “and it seems that a normal citizen can’t throw anything in your yard. But there is an exemption for the newsperson or mail person who can do it. Seems like there is some grey area, what is going on?”
“What we found in the past is people complained, they went to the source and they stopped throwing it. The problem is next week, (the company) hires the next delivery person and they (delivery person) don’t know who doesn’t want it and they continue blanketing everyone.”
Williams said he has taken many complaints about this issue.
“Last night at our committee meeting, I brought up the issue. We decided to get the entire county, unincorporated areas and all of the city ordinances together and we plan to get a consensus to stop this from being a problem and an aggravation for folks. What’s messed up about this is it’s just littering. Pure and simple littering!”
Back in the Berkshire sub-division, Yaeger held up a badly deteriorating paper and said, “Advertisers don’t realize what an irritation these papers are. If they only knew we are not looking at them and simply running over them in our cars.”
What do you think?
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A warning tonight from the Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennessee:
“Never allow your insurance company to write a check to both you and the contractor doing the repair work on your home.” 
The warning comes after I share with the agency the story of north Nashville resident Jeff Turner.
The Metro Water worker says his roof sprung a leak in mid-October. He says his insurance company authorized a repair job for $5,400. Turner signed a contract with a roofing company to do the job, and he thought that was the end of it.
That was months ago, and Turner still has a gaping hole in the ceiling of his workout room, and multiple buckets on the floor to catch the water.
Here’s the problem – The insurance company cut a check to both Turner and the roofers. The roofers cashed the check but never fixed the roof.
That was on December 2, two months ago.
I call the roofing company and begin asking for answers.
An owner gets back to me. I ask why he pocketed the $5,400 when he hasn’t fixed the roof. The owner tells me that the weather has held him up and said his contract allows him three months to finish a job.
Three months to finish the job?
Mr. Turner says he has checked the contract and he doesn’t see anything in the fine print claiming the company has 90 days to complete a job.
When I tell Kathleen Calligan with the BBB about this she admonishes all citizens: Do not sign a contract with a company that takes the money up front and then claims they have 90-days to fix the roof.
Calligan warns consumers to demand insurance checks be written to you the consumer, since it is you the consumer, she says, who pays the premium.
Calligan also says don’t pay the contractor a dime till the job is completed.
I checked with the BBB and the roofing company in question has a good record.
We are not naming the roofer, because by phone, he promises that Mr. Turner’s roof will be fixed soon, weather permitting.
Messed Up plans to hold him to his promise.
Shelbyville residents say smoke billows across their neighborhood every day.
Residents say the smoke makes them sick and burns their eyes.
Residents tell Messed up the smoke comes from a nearby pallet company that burns waste wood adjacent to their homes.
Jay Wolfe is 61 years old. He is a Vietnam Vet and two time Purple Heart recipient.
The Shelbyville resident says the smoke is so bad in his neighborhood it has become unbearable for him, for his ailing wife, and for his neighbors.
Residents describe running in and out of their homes, quickly slamming doors to keep smoke from getting in. Neighbors describe beautiful 70 degree days when they want to open windows but cannot. Residents tell me that their neighborhood smells like a campfire night and day.
I call multiple agencies in Shelbyville about the company.
Brian Nicholson is the fire marshal. He tells me he has been to the incinerator and it does not pose a problem and the owner does not need a permit to burn the waste wood inside the city limit.
“They are not required to have a permit,” Nicholson says. “They are burning in a container manufactured for the purpose. We are aware of it. It is no fire hazard whatsoever.”
What about smoke I ask?
“That is an EPA issue,” the fire fighter counters.
David Langford is a city codes official. He tells me that he has been to the incinerator because of complaints from residents.
“I did smell the “pungent” smell of smoke,” he says. “I said let me call Brian Nicholson and see what his fire inspections show. Brian told me the epa had been out there before, the incinerator has a bag system, and at times, if the bag system is too full and not cleaned out it will puff out, smoke will come out.”
I call the air pollution division of T.D.E.C. which tells me that burning waste wood is EXEMPT from any regulatory authority in the state of Tennessee.
While that may be the case, PIO, Meg Lockhart tells me that the agency is investigating whether the company owner needs a permit to operate the incinerator due to the size of the machine and the fact that it runs on gasoline or diesel.
I go to the company for answers. The owner does not wish to go on camera, but by phone he surprises me, telling me that the reason his incinerator is not burning on the day I visit is because he has stopped burning for good.
The owner tells me:
- He is looking at ways to sell the waste material rather than burning it.
- He is tired of complaints from the neighbors and visits from city officials and Messed Up reporters and he wants to be a good neighbor.
- He says he would rather have everyone happy and be a good business man.
I tell neighbors of his decision and they applaud.
The issue is very complex and Meg Lockhart with TDEC sends me a thorough note to explain what has transpired and what might happen in the future. Here a few bullet points from her note:
- Complaint filed Oct. 1 with the Division of Air Pollution Control / Columbia Environmental Field Office
- Investigation found owner once transported waste wood, but started burning it because it was cheaper. That prompted many neighborhood complaints.
- The state’s air quality act says: burning of wood waste is exempt from TDEC’s regulatory authority
- The owner did not have a permit to operate the incinerator. TDEC is investigating whether that is a violation.
- State lawmakers have asked TDEC to investigate whether laws governing wood waste burning should be strengthened.
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