It’s a never-ending struggle for Natchez Community Service Specialist W.D. Harris. Despite some confusion among residents, a city ordinance prohibits the City of Natchez and Waste Management — which contracts with the city for garbage pickup — from picking up construction debris and tree trunk pieces residents sometimes place in front of their homes for roadside pickup.

Harris hopes if more people are aware of this, it will make his job a lot easier. &uot;It’s hard for us to enforce it without letting (the public) know,&uot; he said.

Although Waste Management can pick up bagged items, items no larger than 2 cubic yards in size or small couches, it cannot clean up debris generated by such large-scale jobs as contract work, including debris left by building construction, remodeling and demolition.

And the city can only pick up authorized items when they are placed in front of a residence with a working water meter.

&uot;(Waste Management) won’t ever get it from a vacant lot or if it’s at a house with no water meter,&uot; Harris said.

Natchez Public Works Director Richard Burke said his office is also not authorized to pick up large piles of debris. &uot;A lot of it is a misunderstanding on the part of the residents,&uot; he said. &uot;We haven’t done that since 1979. It was a cost saving measure. It’s not fair to expect the taxpayer to pick up the bill.&uot;

Because neither the city nor Waste Management can’t pick up debris, it often becomes an eyesore until the offense works its way through the courts. Then aldermen can vote for the city to clean up a site, with the cost assigned to the resident.

If residents need to dispose of a large number of bagged items, such as leaves, they should place only a few bags on the curb at a time, Burke said. Appliances can only be picked up if it is certified that chemicals have been removed. If residents bring appliances to the landfill themselves, the landfill will remove the chemicals.