5 On Your Side: Edinburg residents voice concerns over trash along the expressway
Residents in one Edinburg neighborhood say they’re having problems keeping their part of the city clean due to a nearby landfill.
They called 5 On Your Side for help.
Due to the landfill, trash litters along the expressway. It also lands on property owned by Mary Alice Torres and her family.
Torres says trash accumulates at the fence and backyard of her home and of the transportation company she and her family owns.
“It just makes our place look really trashy,” Torres said. "We have a lot of truckers that are coming from all over the country and this is what we have to show them, and it's really embarrassing."
Torres’ brother — Joe Ramirez — says another problem is workers mowing the grass without picking up the trash first.
“You have all these trash bags, they come and cut it and makes it into confetti so it looks really bad,” Ramirez said.
A spokesperson with the Texas Department of Transportation said it’s common to see trash on this particular stretch of Expressway 281 because trash falls out of cars headed to a nearby landfill. TxDOT spokesman Ray Pedraza said they work with contractors to keep the roads free of trash and debris.
Anyone with concerns with mowing or debris removal on any of the roadways can call the TxDOT Pharr headquarters at 956-702-6100.
Watch the video above for the full story.