Trash talking: Grand Rapids woman fed up with garbage problem

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Nora Conti bought her house in Burton Heights three years ago.

A few weeks after she moved in, she made another purchase: a trash pick and work gloves. In her back ally off of Cutler, trash collects as fast as leaves in fall. Every week, Nora picks up the garbage she says comes in from the city parking lot not far from her house.

“It actually used to make me a lot more mad,” Conti said.

Now, Nora says, she's become used to picking up after others, as her neighbors who have been there much longer also have grown accustomed to the trash.

Nora says they shouldn't have to become used to a solvable problem. Nora feels publicly available trash disposal would help.

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“There’s an elementary school just a few blocks down. There are kids who play back here. As they should. It’s their backyard and their home,” Conti said.

Nora's reported the problem to 311, more than once, to no avail. She says the root problems that cause the trash will take much longer to fix.

But some trash cans around her area would be a good place to start. She says it would at least make it easier for her to clean up herself if it were all in one place. It'd take less time and keep her personal trash bin less full of garbage that's not hers for a trash-pickup service she pays for.

“It’s not like we just need the city to throw money at our neighborhood. Just a few trash cans maybe. I think that would give people hope enough to try a little more,” Nora said.

The city of Grand Rapids is looking into the issue. Police have expanded their presence in the area, which Nora admits helps keep people on their best behavior — but doesn't solve the problem she's forced to handle on her own.

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Nora says it largely stems from people loitering in her back ally but adds kicking people out won't fix things either. They'll come back and bring the trash with them. She says a truck that has been marked as "for sale" for years now is also full of trash.

“Obviously in a neighborhood like this, we might need a little extra help. We’re just not getting any,” Nora said.

Today, there was a used needle behind Nora's home. She says this isn't a matter of policing — but a matter of public health.

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“It just feels like the city knows the problem is here and just doesn’t want to deal with it. I don’t know what the excuse is. I’d love to know,” Nora said.

Nora lives in Grand Rapids' third ward, which is predominantly made up of people of color. The third ward has been historically underinvested in. Recent city budget changes have been made to address this inequity.

Nora just wants a solution to the trash problem.

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