INDIANAPOLIS — Tenants at Abington Apartments on the west side of Indianapolis say uncollected trash keeps piling up.
"At least two weeks' worth of trash," tenant Anthony Bigham said.
It's so much trash that it could take days to clear up.
"We are tired of this. It doesn't make no sense," Tajuana Flemming said.
Other tenants say there's nothing they can do.
"Something happens, takes a while. They finally fix it, and it's just like, until you move out, you just gonna have to deal with it," Bigham said.
Damonta Waldon comes daily to check on his mom at Abington.
"It's crazy. She can't even go throw trash away. It's so full," Waldon said.
It's so full that trash is spilling outside of the dumpsters and into the road.
According to the Marion County Health Department, inspectors gave the property owners two weeks to clean up the mess. That deadline was Tuesday.
On Wednesday, 13News saw workers helping clear away some of the garbage around the dumpsters.
One truck belonged to Waste Management. The other truck's USDOT number was registered to WM Transport of Indiana LLC.
A spokesperson from WM issued the following statement to 13News:
"WM commits to taking care of each other, our customers, our communities, and the environment - while taking extensive measures to ensure that service is not interrupted.
WM has been working to connect with Abington Apartments to update critical account information for the past several weeks. With successful contact on 12/27, the account is now in good standing/updated, and our local team has made the Abington Apartment community a priority to service.
We encourage all WM customers to sign up and activate an online WM account (www.wm.com) to view pickup and holiday schedules, manage service requests, and enroll in AutoPay and Paperless Billing. Customers may also set communication preferences to receive notifications and service alerts via email, text, or phone. Should customers have additional questions, they should not hesitate to contact WM at 866-797-9018, Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM to 5:40 PM. We can also be contacted through the chat function on www.wm.com."
Tenants driving by stopped to thank them and show appreciation.
One of the workers responded by saying, "Thank you, ma'am."
13News reached out to the property owner, Friedman Communities but has not yet heard back.
Friedman Communities is also the property owner of Cheswick Village Apartments, where tenants experienced similar issues.
Flemming and her husband have been living at Abington Apartments for less than two years.
"You're putting our health in danger with this, and this is ridiculous because now you see trash is blowing all over the neighborhood. And for the owners not to do anything, you're taking advantage of us, and I don't like that at all," Fleming said.
Fleming said she and other neighbors have contacted the corporate office numerous times. They haven't received a response.
"We are tired of this. It doesn't make any sense. I'm just over it because I'm praying to God when our lease is up, we are able to move out of here because I do not want to stay here anymore," Fleming said.
That's because Fleming said the inside of her apartment has signs of mold, holes in the wall and kitchen cabinets that have never been repaired.
"Our ceiling in the kitchen fell in because they were supposed to fix the leaking tub upstairs, and for some reason, when they fixed it, the water ran through the ceiling, and then, everything leaked down in the kitchen," Fleming said.
Fleming said maintenance put a wooden board on her ceiling to cover the gaping hole, but the kitchen light is hanging from the ceiling.
"I don't have an immune system because I had a kidney transplant last year. My husband doesn't have an immune system because he's going through chemo. We're still being exposed, and we have mold and mildew in our house in the ceiling," Fleming said.
While Fleming and her family still face challenges with maintenance, trash collection seems to be moving in the right direction.
According to a county health department spokesperson, a representative will be onsite daily to ensure trash is cleared.
"Our environmental health specialist will inspect the property daily to ensure that progress continues. If progress stops, we will take further action, requesting that our Environmental Health Safety and Management department clean around the dumpsters and take court action against the complex to get the dumpsters emptied," the spokesperson said.