Andy,
I have lived in TN for 5 years now and I have a question: Why does TN allow people to pile up household trash and discarded items out in the open where the neighbors and passersby can see? Allowing people to turn their yards into their own private garbage dumps just doesn’t seem right to me. Litter is everywhere in this beautiful countryside, along the roadways, in the rivers, lakes and streams. I saw a cow eating a plastic bag discarded by some careless citizen when I was out driving one day.
100 yards from my mailbox is a growing pile of garbage. It started out as an old sofa, some roofing material, cardboard, insulation and other miscellaneous items. The weeds grew up around it. Recently, the owner piled two dozen or more fully loaded white garbage bags on top of it. Who knows what’s in those bags that could leach out. It is very near a pond that has a stream that runs along the edge of my property and into another neighbor’s pond. It is attracting mice and probably rats. We have convenience centers very nearby and since everyone pays a fee to maintain them via their electric bills why not use them? We also have a disposal service that for a fee will pick up your trash weekly.
Am I wrong in thinking that this is MESSED UP?
A Messed Up investigation has initiated a probe by the state Department of Environment and Conservation and Robertson County Emergency Management officials.
At the heart of the investigation is who is responsible for illegally dumping medical waste and medical records in an abandoned mansion in Springfield, Tennessee.
A tip to Messed Up leads Photo Journalist Al Devine and me to the 9,000-square foot mansion located on Memorial Boulevard, behind a busy Kroger shopping center.
The front of the mansion is boarded up, and there is a padlock on the door.
Behind the mansion, however, the windows and doors are wide open.
The first floor is covered with thousands of pieces of paper. Upon closer examination, we see that these are patient medical records. There are so many, it is difficult to focus on any one item.
I notate records from as early as 1984.
There are boxes piled on boxes piled on boxes. Some are empty, but most contain medical records like those we find on the floor.
The walls are painted with graffiti.
Though the front door is locked, someone has written this message on the inside.
It reads, “We’re always gonna find a way in this B*&$!.”
There are needles scattered around the main room.
In a rear hallway, we find bags of medical waste. There are thousands of needles. Many appear to be used. There are vials of medicine and containers for body fluids.
As of this writing, who owns the house and who dumped the material is being investigated.
EMA officials say they are meeting with state and city authorities to discuss how best to secure the house and remove the medical waste.
TDEC officials tell Messed Up, once the material is secured, the agency will look into who dumped the material.
I have spoken to Maynor Schott, emergency management coordinator for Robertson County.
“Quite honestly, we are in the process of trying to contact the owner of the property to clean up the property,” he said. “We want it boarded up. If we take charge of this, then the city of Springfield is liable for disposal.”
TDEC tells Messed Up penalties are certainly possible for this kind of dumping.
Melissa Rodriguez and her 3 year old daughter, Destiny, have been living in horrible conditions for more than a month. The Wilson county mother said the trailer she rents has a leak, and raw sewage is pouring out underneath.
An out of work construction worker said Roto-Rooter will fix the leak for approximately 250 dollars, but Mrs. Rodriguez doesn’t have money and claims her landlord won’t fix it either.
Rodriguez said the problem began in February. Since then, she and her daughter have become sick. Rodriguez said her doctors told her it is directly related to the raw sewage under and around her home. With nowhere else to turn, Rodriguez called the State Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Ground Water Protection.
The agency investigated and sent the Murfreesboro owner a notice of violation on March 30th, 2010. The document ordered the man to fix the problem in the next 30 days or risk going to court. With tears in her eyes, Rodriguez said she can’t last another 30 minutes in the trailer. It is so soiled and so full of stink she cannot sleep at night.
She callsed Messed Up, and Andy got on the phone with her landlord. This is how the conversation went:
CORDAN: Sir we have a helluva problem out here. I need something to be resolved. Why are you not fixing it?
OWNER: What kind of problem are we having?
CORDAN: You are kidding me right?
OWNER: No sir, I need to know what kind of problem.
CORDAN: I’m staring at a bunch of paperwork that says you know exactly what I am talking about. It says you have a problem with leaking pipes underneath the trailer, it says you are the landlord, and I figure it’s a simple job. Let’s fix it. The baby is sick. The woman is sick. This is an environmental situation. Why is this taking so long?
OWNER: Is there… well is there… what is leaking… is the kitchen sink leaking underneath the home?
CORDAN: Sir, when she goes to the bathroom, it comes out under the trailer. That is a problem. You are responsible. What are you going to do about it?
OWNER: Well sir, the cleanout plug was taken out from underneath there, that’s why that was done.
CORDAN: Well fix it. Unfortunately, you are the landlord and that is part of the problem.
OWNER: I did, I did. I went and re-hung the line and put the cleanout plugs back in.
CORDAN: I just spoke with the state of Tennessee and they say you are in violation. The state says you, the landlord, are in violation. All I can suggest to you is you are responsible here. And it is unfortunate that someone might have to spend 200 bucks, but somebody needs to fix this.
OWNER: OK. I don’t have a problem. I went back up there and re-hung that sewer line. And put the clean out plugs back in, sir.
CORDAN: But it’s broken. We need a certified pro. Can you do that for us? You have people getting sick?
OWNER: I don’t want anyone to get sick, sir. I don’t have a problem in the world, now, I thought the problem was fixed.
CORDAN: Well it is not fixed and I am standing here watching stuff drip underneath this trailer and it’s foul. It just needs to be fixed.
OWNER: I agree totally. If it is not fixed, it needs to be fixed. I agree totally.
And with that, he hung up. Melissa Rodriguez hears the whole conversation and tells me that he won’t do anything. We shall see.
When an Antioch family moved into a rental home, they encountered a front lawn full of the previous tenant’s belongings.
Chris and Sheila York told Messed Up they immediately called the property managers to complain.
“The landlord told me he’d have it out before we took possession,” Sheila York said. “Well this is what he did: He took it from the house and put it here and said the city would be by on Tuesday to pick it up. A week went by and nobody came, so I called Public Works, and Public Works told me they won’t come and get it. It is not their responsibility, they said; it is the landlord’s responsibility.”
Mrs. York said she volunteered to take the items to the dump if the management company would pay for the dump fee. She said that the management company declined.
“We have a dump truck because my husband is a roofer. We offered to load it up and take it to the dump. We just wanted 50 dollars for the dump fee. He said why would I pay you to do it when I can get the city to do it for free.”
We went to Barrett Realty for answers. The office was bustling with activity when we entered. Numerous people were trying to pay rent, but there was only one associate in the office.
That associate told Messed Up that Barrett doesn’t own the property, but does manage it. He told us that someone would get back to us. That never happened, but apparently the message got through, because the next day residents reported that Barrett Realty picked up the debris pile.
Gwen Hopkins-Glascock of Metro Public Works sent Andy this note regarding the assertion that the city will pick up debris left at the curb:
“Landlords and management company’s are responsible for disposing of items like this. We do not want people to think there is even a remote chance that items left at the curb will be removed. It is the responsibility of the owners to dispose of their unwanted items, instead of expecting Metro to do this. In order to assist residents who have a hardship, Metro provides a bulk item collection service (thru Public Works and the sheriff’s office), and Metro Beautification organizes numerous neighborhood cleanup events where bulk items are accepted, but leaving them at the curb is irresponsible at best.”
When it comes to recycling, Davidson County and Williamson County have very different points of view.
Williamson County allows only Williamson County residents to recycle at the 13 satellite drop off facilities situated around the county.
Davidson County doesn’t care where you come from, as long as you recycle.
We’re not talking household waste, or garbage. We are talking recyclable materials like glass and plastic and newspapers.
The difference in philosophy across a county line is the focus of tonight’s that is messed up.
The issue was brought to our attention by a 20 year old U.T. student named Armond Agassi. The Agassi family lives in Davidson County, about 2 miles from the Brentwood city limit.
A few days before Christmas, Agassi’s mother asks her son to take the recyclables to the recycling drop off site.
The Agassi’s have always used the facility on Wilson Pike in Williamson County. But on this day, he says he is met by a man who tells him he cannot recycle there.
“He says you don’t live in Williamson County and you don’t pay property tax and so you cannot recycle. I am just trying to recycle, and do something good, instead of throwing it in the garbage.”
Agassi is frustrated by the rule, especially since he says almost everything he is recycling was purchased in Williamson County.
“So we buy most of our grocery’s and goods in Williamson so why can’t we recycle in Williamson county?,” Agassi asks. “We should be able to recycle in Williamson county or where ever it is easiest cause if you take the initiative to recycle you should not be penalized for it,” the young business student exclaims.
We go to the recycling center which is bustling with activity. Glass here, cardboard there. It’s good to see so many people being “green.”
I personally notate several out-of-county plates in the parking lot, but no one is being turned away.
One man from Hamilton County openly points out his out of county status as he carries several loads of recyclables to the bin.
I go to the sign at the entry way and there is absolutely no doubt what the rule is:
WILLIAMSON COUNTY RECYCLING DROP OFF SITE
WILLIAMSON COUNTY RESIDENTS ONLY.
NO OUT OF COUNTY USE
I encounter Paul Webb who is recycling. He tells me he has lived in Brentwood for 24 yeard
“We believe in it and it is easy, the county put this out for us to use and the recycling program benefits the schools. They contribute back to the school.”
I tell Webb about Agassi’s situation. Webb has this to say.
“If everyone came down from Davidson County and started recycling it might be crazy. And you run the risk, of over burdening this facility. That is the ying and the yang of it all. We all must understand he lives in another political entity, and there is an invisible line there.”
For perspective we go to a drop off center in Davidson County. The facility is also bustling. While most of the license tags are from Davidson County I notice one from the Memphis area.
I see a lot of signs on what can and cannot be recycled here, but there are no signs that mandate Davidson County residency only.
Public Works PIO Gwen Hopkins tells me:
Davidson County has 3 convenience centers: this is a place where you can drop off household trash. Household garbage. Furniture. Appliances etc.. You have to be a Davidson County resident to leave non recyclables at these convenience Centers. You will be asked for proof of residency.
But when it comes to recycling. We have relaxed our recycling restrictions.
The reason: recycling generates revenue for us. We actually get paid for the recycling.
There is no way to police it. It is not staffed. We don’t care who drops off here. We want people to recycle. We want trash kept out of the landfill.
Our idea is: Don’t mess with mother nature. We are trying to change the mind set of people.
Think green. We want to make it easy and convenient so it is not a hassle.
If it is not convenient people won’t recycle.
Lewis Bumpus is the Solid Waste Director for Williamson County. Bumpus tells me:
Williamson County WILL accept out of county recyclables but only at one facility, in Franklin at 420 Century Court. The facility is called the Material Recovery Facility and it accepts all manner of recyclables from surrounding counties. Bumpus says if you bring materials that have value they will pay you for bringing these items to the facility. Those items include: paper, Newspaper, Aluminium cans, tin cans, office paper, newspapers, magazines, plastics.
Bumpus reiterates that out of county residents cannot drop off recyclables at any of the county’s satellite drop off sites like the one on Wilson Pike.
Bumpus adds: To help save trips and reduce congestion Williamson County offers 13 drop off sites. The tax payer pays for this.
To run that center on Wilson Pike costs several thousand dollars a year. Last year, just cardboard and plastic alone; we took 471 loads from that Wilson Pike facility. Each load goes to the recycling center.
Bumpus adds:
Williamson County has great schools. They can’t send their kids to our schools. Go to Montgomery or Cheatham, it also says do not accept out of county waste.
I ask if it is patrolled. Bumpus says:
If we catch anyone, we explain to them to carry it to the material recycling center.
I tell Bumpus about the Agassi family that purchased most of its groceries in Williamson County. Bumpus says:
The recycling sites are paid for by property tax, not sales tax. For Example: if you own land in Williamson, let’s say 15,000 acres, but you live in Davidson County, you can’t use the center on Wilson Pike. You have to be a resident in Williamson where you pay property taxes.
When the materials are picked up and then sold to the recycling center, the money generated goes to Williamson schools for environmental programs. Williamson county schools benefit.
Finally, we talk to Williamson County Resident, tim Steed who doesn’t like Williamson county’s policy:
“That is a shame. It is about mother Earth. We all share this Earth, as middle Tennesseans, Williamson county and Davidson county, there should not be a divide there. It’s about recycling.
by
The first floor is covered with thousands of pieces of paper. Upon closer examination, we see that these are patient medical records. There are so many, it is difficult to focus on any one item.
Our idea is: Don’t mess with mother nature. We are trying to change the mind set of people. 
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