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Village seeks BID help with trash removal

COURTESY PHOTO | Garbage overflowing at a receptacle in downtown Greenport over the Fourth of July weekend.

Fourth of July weekend was particularly busy in Greenport with fireworks, a carnival and other special events attracting thousands of visitors.

But there’s also a less welcome and smelly side to the holiday: Great heaps of trash piled up around unemptied downtown trash containers.

“I consider it a dangerous situation,” Trustee Julia Robins said.

The rubbish overflow from busy weekends, falling onto walkways and in parks, creates a stinky and unsanitary problem for guests and residents alike. Village board members plan to ask the Business Improvement District to help take out the trash.

Ms. Robins and Trustee Mary Bess Philips said they hope the BID will help chip in to the cost of more frequent trash removal on Saturdays and Sundays. At present, the responsibility for emptying the trash containers falls on the village highway department.

“It’s just an idea,” Ms. Phillips said. “We need to think outside the box.”

As board liaison to the BID, Ms. Robins will propose the idea during the BID’s next meeting July 25 at the Little Red Schoolhouse.

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