Trash from Fayetteville homeless encampment headed to the Cape Fear River
A pile of trash from a homeless encampment is making its way down the banks of the Cape Fear River in Fayetteville.
There are about a dozen tents underneath the Person Street Bridge. Garbage including plastic bottles, Styrofoam containers and a kitchen sink is piled up along the riverbank.
“Homelessness is a problem in the world, not just here, but litter is something I think can be controlled,” said Friends of the Cape Fear River member Jimmy Page.
Page grew up near the water and said he is devastated by the sight of the trash.
The bridge and property around it are controlled by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. However, the city of Fayetteville is responsible for keeping the area clean. It's something the city recently did at another homeless encampment.
"The city has the impact reduction program, and we removed about 43 tons waste and trash from a homeless encampment site that had been abandoned near one of our parks last month," said Fayetteville special projects manager Brook Redding.
City leaders say they're committed to removing the trash under the Person Street Bridge before it gets into the Cape Fear River. Page said the cleanup can't come soon enough.
“We would love to have it cleaned up,” Page said. “Just some more monitoring. Some that care.”
It’s unclear how long it will take Fayetteville staff to clean up the garbage and what they’ll do to prevent it from happening again.
The city is planning to remove the trash. City staff is also working on an abatement process that would shut down the encampment and also a plan to help those who live there connect to resources they need.
