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DeKalb County residents claim garbage trucks dumping liquid onto streets

By and
Updated  March 14, 2025 5:36pm EDT
DeKalb County
FOX 5 Atlanta

Mortons Landing residents upset about stains

The residents of DeKalb County's Mortons Landing neighborhood are complaining about stains on their roads they say came from garbage trucks. Eric Perry reporting.

The Brief

    • The residents of DeKalb County's Mortons Landing neighborhood are complaining about stains on their roads they say came from garbage trucks.
    • The group says that the trucks are dumping liquids intentionally to save time.
    • The county says that the problem was a faulty drain plug on the truck.

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Neighbors in one DeKalb County community are crying foul after claiming that garbage trucks have been dumping liquids from their trucks in their neighborhood.

They say the liquids have stained their streets and caused a strong odor.

What they're saying:

Pictures from above show the stained, stinky situation below.

"It's been a major issue," Lenise Jones said.

Residents in the Mortons Landing subdivision in DeKalb say garbage trucks are to blame.

"The truck has a plug in it, and they are supposed to drain those plugs at the landfill. They can take those plugs out as they pick up the garbage, and this is how we are getting the stains," Howard Banks said.

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Stains on the road in Mortons Landing (Courtesy of Robbie Scandrick)

"In front of my house was nasty, and it's embarrassing when we have company coming over. This is not how we live," Jarvis Mays said.

This group of neighbors banded together to take their complaints to the county.

"The attention isn't being put on this properly. It's like, 'let's throw a band-aid on it, shut them up, and keep it moving,'" Trevor Richards said.

A group of neighbors is frustrated over the stains on their roads. (FOX 5)

Richards says someone from the county applied a degreaser, but it didn’t work.

"Eventually, a street sweeper-type vehicle came through, and I guess they tried to do something, but it failed. As quickly as they came, they left," Richards said.

Over time, rain has washed some of the stains away, but some spots still linger.

"We, the people of DeKalb County in our Mortons Landing subdivision, truly care about where we live," Jones said.

The other side:

FOX 5 took this issue to the county, which responded with the following statement:

As a result of this incident:

  • Maintenance protocols are being reviewed.
  • Crew supervisors have followed up with all crews to reinforce the standard operating procedure for truck leaks: Any leaks must be reported immediately.
  • All trucks have been inspected to ensure the hopper drain plugs are properly installed.

The Source: FOX 5's Eric Perry reported this story out of DeKalb County.


 

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