Off-campus students have reported an abundance of broken glass, debris and litter on the streets of South Oakland.
Many students who call South Oakland home have expressed frustration at the large increase of loose trash across the area. Some have felt inconvenienced and concerned about possible hazards that make traveling through the area more difficult.
Naomi Thompson, a junior economics major, said she has to step over trash frequently when walking through South Oakland.
“It’s so bad. Most of the trash cans don’t have lids on them, so when they go to get trash it literally knocks some of them over and nobody picks it up,” Thompson said. “I’m stepping over trash and it smells rancid.”
Thompson said the trash affects her walk to classes, as she has to avoid certain sidewalks and instead walk along the road.
“A lot of it is alcohol trash where people just leave their stuff everywhere,” Thompson said. “But a lot of the streets are double parked. It’s hard for the [sanitation workers] to get to the cans.”
The City of Pittsburgh’s environmental service team is responsible for the disposal and pickup of refuse and recycling in the streets and sidewalks of South Oakland. Molly Onufer, press secretary for the Mayor’s office, said trash may not be picked up if residents do not follow the City’s set-out requirements.
“These guidelines are intended to keep the people who work for environmental services safe on the job,” Onufer said.
Onufer said actions can be taken to reduce the issues related to residential weekly pickup.
“Anyone with concerns about their residential pickup can call our 311 response center, and it will be directed to the appropriate department,” Onufer said.
Rithwik Aggarwal, a junior chemistry and computational biology major, said the trash on the sidewalks in South Oakland make it more difficult to walk to campus.
“There’s already not enough space for cars to park or people to walk. The fact that there’s trash cans and a lot of trash on the sides just makes it harder for me to walk to class in the morning and come back at night,” Aggarwal said. “I have to walk on the road essentially because the sidewalk is full of trash cans.”
Frank Deely, a senior economics major, has lived in South Oakland year round for the past four years and said the trash problem is nothing new.
“It’s cyclical — move-in week is definitely the worst, and I live here year round. It just builds up and builds up,” Deely said. “The smell is awful because of the heat, but I don’t think it’s significantly worse than it has been over the past four years that I’ve been here.”
Students who live in the area believe the problem comes from a variety of sources. Patrick Riordan, a senior environmental science major, believes his fellow residents play a hand in the issue.
“I think the people here don’t take care of their trash,” Riordan said. “Also, I think the trash gets loaded up [in the trash bins], and the City can be inconsistent.”
Ethan Plow, a senior finance and supply chain management major, said one aspect of the issue stems from a shortage of trash bins in the area.
“My house is right next to a dumpster that’s shared by many different apartment buildings,” Plow said. “And a lot of the time, we get trash overflowing out of that dumpster, and pretty much all the cans around the street.”
Aggarwal said some of the buildup is caused by infrequent trash pickup in South Oakland.
“I personally don’t see the garbage [truck] coming around one day every week. I think that just adds to the problem [because the trash is] just left there,” Aggarwal said. “And students not being clean or taking care of their own space surrounding their apartments is also worsening the problem.”
Alex Alder, a pre-pharmaceutical sophomore, said the issue should not have to be resolved by the students.
“I think someone could be doing more, whether it’s the University or the City, because we do pay a decent amount of taxes,” Alder said.
Issues with excess trash have also led to additional problems for some residents. Aggarwal said the trash has attracted pests to his apartment.
“Since the trash is just lying out there, there’s lots of bugs and flies around and even when I try to open my window, sometimes at home, there’ll be the occasional fly that comes in and I feel like that’s partly due to the trash,” Aggarwal said.
Aggarwal said there is also a health risk regarding rats and mice around the trash on the sidewalks in South Oakland.
“I think the trash lying around also [brings] lots of mice and rats that roam around,” Aggarwal said. “[There’s] rodents, insects, all that comes around with the trash.”
Thompson said she is looking to move out of South Oakland because of the trash problem.
“I actually am looking to try and get out of South Oakland because of the trash,” Thompson said “It actually depresses me so much. I’m walking to school and I’m like, ‘man, this really sucks.’”