LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. - With the holiday season in full swing, some Lehigh Acres residents are worried their trash problem will be getting even worse than it already is.

Residents around the area of West 9th and West 11th streets said the area has become a popular dumping zone for anyone and everyone. Trash can be seen scattered and in large piles on the sides of the roads and near residential homes.

Julio A. Lapone has lived near West 9th and Euclid streets for the past 13 years and he said the amount of trash that accumulates near his home is staggering.

“It just ticks me off. Somebody came out of their way and dumped that right next to my house," Lapone said. "We have cleaned it several times but sometimes it just stays out there for months.”

This weekend, the trash near Lapone's house consisted of semi-truck tires, car belts and other miscellaneous things. He said the trash problem in his neighborhood gets worse every year.

“They just came over here and dumped it. That was it. I’m getting tired of people doing that around this area," Lapone said. “This happens more than once, all the time.”

Lapone said he has reached out to the county and authorities but his pleas for help have fallen on deaf ears.

"There are times when I feel like they really don’t care, honestly," Lapone said.

That's why some residents have tried managing the problem themselves. Mike Magnant has lived in Lehigh for two years. He equips a golf cart with a waste bin and hits the streets, picking up anything he can haul away.

“It’s a losing proposition, it’s not like I believe I’m going to change the world," Magnant said. "I live in this community, I raise a daughter in this community, I want where we live to be clean." 

He said he picks up at least a trash bag of new trash daily when he hits the streets and he has no plans on stopping.

“I wish more people would be outraged by the behavior," Magnant said.

Magnant said he has started multiple social media pages in hopes of gathering volunteers to pick up trash around the neighborhood.

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