‘It’s a nuisance’: Lakeland residents want trash removed from apartment complex

LAKELAND, Tenn. — From pizza boxes to rotting food to empty bottles of chemicals, trash bags are teeming with garbage at a Lakeland apartment complex.

“It’s a nuisance, really,” one resident said.

FOX13 agreed to hide tenants’ identities because they worried they would be punished for talking to the media.

“It’s been piling up very, very grossly for over a week now,” said another woman who lives there. “We were told it would be fixed last Wednesday, but it just keeps getting worse every day.”

A Lakeland codes enforcement officer confirmed that the city has cited Somerset at Lakeland Apartments. However, the company’s corporate management insists staffers are not at fault.

“We contract the management of our waste removal through a national company known as SLM Facilities,” a spokesman for Sandhurst Apartment Management wrote. “They in turn contract the services for Somerset at Lakeland Apartments with Waste Management. The collection of our waste has been unsatisfactory for the past two weeks and we’ve had nothing but excuses.”

The spokesman said those excuses range from claims that the trash had been picked up (when it hadn’t) to concerns that branches weighed down by ice might damage the garbage truck.

SLM Facilities declined to comment on the story.

A spokeswoman for Waste Management told FOX13 that the ice storm delayed service.

“Our teams are working diligently to recover all customers in a timely manner,” she wrote. “We appreciate the patience of our customers when delays like this occur.”

Residents told FOX13 they don’t care who picks up the trash — they just want the smelly garbage out of the apartment complex.

“Nothing to really do, but move it,” said one man.

To report a concern about your apartment complex, email YourMoney@FOX13Memphis.com.

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