New Orleans residents hold 'trash parade' protest after garbage pickup delayed 3 weeks post Hurricane Ida
Many residents say their household trash has not been picked up since the storm
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Three weeks after Hurricane Ida slammed Louisiana, a stench still haunts New Orleans and its suburbs.
Many residents have not had their household trash picked up in weeks. Driving through neighborhoods, bin after bin is filled to the brim and residents are losing patience.
Trash bins in New Orleans are filled to the brim as city sanitation workers struggle to keep up with the demand for trash pick-up following Hurricane Ida.
"There's not one word for it but disgusting," resident James Hickerson said. "All these trash bags have spoiled meat in them. We can't sit on the porch because it stinks. Flies are all over."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}IDA-BATTERED NEW ORLEANS CLEANS UP TRASH AS STREET BEGIN TO STINK
The City of New Orleans says it doesn't have enough workers to handle the trash due to a worker shortage.
"It just feels like we're living in a landfill right now," resident Sherwin White said. "It doesn't feel like home anymore."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One solution the city has offered residents is to drop off their garbage themselves.
Cars filled with trash bags have been lining up outside the recycling center for days.
Residents are filling vehicles with their uncollected trash to get rid of it themselves.
"I didn't know when they were going to come get it so I took matters into my own hands," Clarence Villere said as he was dropping off 12 bags of trash.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NEW ORLEANS' TRASH PROBLEM EXACERBATED BY NICHOLAS
Over the weekend, nearly a hundred city residents also took matters into their own hands by dressing up in garbage-themed costumes as part of an organized "trash parade" to demand change.
A woman holds a "Let them eat trash" sign while wearing a garbage bag for a dress at an organized 'trash parade' protest.
"It's like living in a third-world country," said parade-goer Julia Marshall. "Pay the workers. Give them benefits. They're the backbone of civil society."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HURRICANE IDA CAUSES WIDESPREAD DEVASTATION IN LOUISIANA, NEW ORLEANS IN THE DARK
In response to the backlash, the City of New Orleans has called in the extensive cleanup crew it uses for Mardi Gras to finish the trash pickup.