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By SCOTT HAWKINS

and SABRINA ROBERTSON

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Employees of Waste Pro picked up trash along U.S. 61 South in Adams County on Saturday morning from the Natchez city limits south approximately 3 to 8 miles to the landfill.

Michael Bonds, Kennedy Hill and Shelvin Hudson, all employees of Waste Pro, were working to pick up litter Saturday morning near Roux 61 restaurant.

“The company is just doing a positive thing to help out in the community,” Bonds said of Waste Pro.

The Natchez Democrat published a story Nov. 17 after Adams County Board of Supervisors members complained about trash littering the sides of U.S 61 and shared a video showing trash blowing out of the back of what appeared to be a Waste Pro garbage truck traveling on U.S. 61.

“Following the incident regarding trash littered along Highway 61 last month, Waste Pro’s team in Natchez has inspected all of its trucks to ensure all trash is properly secured and this does not happen again,” wrote Chris Lockwood, regional vice president of Waste Pro in a letter to the editor. “While we are not the only waste service provider, this was an isolated incident that was not brought to our attention right away. However, once we learned of it, we took the necessary steps to rectify the situation and additionally will be hosting a road cleanup this Saturday.”

Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten posted pictures of the cleanup on social media Saturay and commended the company for their efforts.

“A couple of weeks ago, an article was written in the newspaper about a Waste Pro trash truck littering on Hwy. 61 south,” Patten wrote in his post. “After that, the supervisor of the company whom I didn’t know was the supervisor at the time (Maurice Hudson), reached out to me. We talked about how to make this right with the community that they have supported over the years and this is what he came up with in the photos. He decided to bring out their own employees to clean up Hwy. 61 south. I just want to thank him for communicating and taking efforts to make things right with the community for himself and the company. This is a great example of good leadership.”

Lockwood said Waste Pro strives to be a good community partner.

“Waste Pro is committed to its motto, Caring For Our Communities,” Lockwood said. “Any news of trash littering roads is disappointing to us and we will work to address it right away. We ask residents to please inform us immediately if they see any such incident in the future so we can get to the bottom of it right away.”