BIRMINGHAM, AlabamaWBRC) – A big update on the issue of illegal dumping near Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport where two people were found burned alive October 29.

The Airport Authority told WBRC that illegal dumping is a crime and while it has been a problem for years, their contractor works daily to clean up the mounds of trash and debris.

TIG contractors say they were hired for this cleanup effort in 2022 and since then, these large-scale illegal dumpings have been a recurring problem that they are doing their best to keep under control.

The scale of this problem is staggering and last year alone they removed over 2.8 million pounds of trash.

James Densmore, founder and president of TIG Contractors said, “We’re here on airport property every day, so we haul debris four to five times a week, which is several truckloads. »

The problem is that the moment they leave with a pile of trash to haul away, there is already more trash dumped in the area.

“You know, it’s not like a neighborhood cleanup, where you can go in and pick up the trash. A lot of these things are extremely heavy, like construction debris and things of that nature. So we have to have heavy equipment like grapple trucks, dump trailers and things of that nature to solve this problem,” Densmore said.

The BAA says they are only allowed to clean up their properties, not community or city streets.

“People assume that all properties in this area are owned by the airport, but that is often not the case. We have maps that determine who actually owns the property and we will get that information and pass it on to the person who needs it,” Densmore said.

The BAA says it currently spends nearly $700,000 a year on the ongoing cleanup.

The Birmingham Airport Authority said in a statement: “We understand the frustration felt by neighbors. This is where they live. We continually work with them to try to mitigate the problem as best we can and keep them informed of our efforts.

Receive breaking news alerts in the Apple App Store And Google Play Store or subscribe to our electronic newsletter here.

Copyright 2024 WBRC. All rights reserved.