LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — Residents in Lehigh Acres say enough is enough when it comes to illegal dumping in their neighborhood, and Lee County officials are finally taking action.
Click here to see Lehigh Acres Community Correspondent Victoria Quevedo speak with Jungbauer.
Lee County Commissioners approved a measure Tuesday that will dedicate a full-time staff member to focus solely on addressing illegal dumping issues in the Lehigh Acres community.
According to county maps, Lehigh Acres has the highest concentration of illegal dumping activity across Lee County.
"It's frustrating. We work so hard to keep a nice neighborhood. If you look around our neighborhood, everyone works very hard, and it just gets covered with trash when the wind blows. People dump off tires and construction materials," said Barbara Jungbauer, a longtime Lehigh Acres resident.
Jungbauer has been documenting the problem by taking photos of trash piling up along roadways and vacant lots throughout her community.
The county's partnership with Keep Lee County Beautiful will now include this dedicated position to coordinate cleanups and educate neighbors and local businesses about litter prevention.
"I'm very enthusiastic that Lee County is making steps, and I believe that having a full time person who will coordinate volunteer efforts and cleanups is important," Jungbauer said.
However, Jungbauer believes solving the problem will require more than just county intervention.
"I'm hopeful for the future. I'm really hoping that we can come together as a community and just put some pressure, societal pressure, don't dump dispose of things properly," she said.
"We can do better," Jungbauer added.
For more information check out, www.leegov.com/solidwaste [leegov.com] and www.klcb.org [klcb.org]
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