ST. MARTIN PARISH, La. (KLFY) - Disposing of household trash is becoming a huge problem in St. Martin Parish.

The parish is now cracking down on homeowners who are not following the guidelines.

The South Barn Public Works maintenance facility is one of the four locations in St. Martin Parish where residents can drop off their recyclable items. Unfortunately, not all residents are disposing of their waste at the mandatory sights.

St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said it seems to him that "There is a large number of our citizens who are not participating in the mandatory waste program."

Waste connection began servicing St. Martin Parish in January of 2022 after the parish's former waste disposal program Pelican Waste & Debris was dropped. The transition could be the reason for the confusion as residents are throwing out their trash on their own, and are disposing of their waste on their own.

The parish’s code of ordinances state very clearly that:

• Section 36-4: all residential households must receive and pay for waste disposal services under the terms of the parish’s contract with its provider.
• Section 36-9: no person shall dump or allow the dumping of garbage on his property, the property of another, or at any park or recreational facility.
• Section 36-12: the reduction or disposal of all forms of solid waste by incineration or burning is prohibited.
• Section 36-9: prohibits littering and further sets forth an expansive definition of littering.

A violation of any of the foregoing edicts can result in a fine.

"We have certainly met with law enforcement," Cedars said. "They are going to work with us to identify those people who are inappropriately disposing of their trash. We are going to address that because we have ordinances that prohibits that. The unlawful dumping of refuse and littering."

Jamie Gilbert of Waste Connections said any questions regarding what can be properly disposed of, where to properly dispose the waste, and your household's service can be answered by contacting waste connection's call center at their facility.

Gilbert said, "You can contact us through the app. or you can contact us through email or our local phone number. We have a dedicated call center at our facility and that way we can get work orders generated so we can update any information."