Imagine waking up every morning to the sound of honking garbage trucks every collection day at 3 a.m.. This is exactly what residents of Berkshire Forest have been dealing with for months now, as the Garbage Truck Problem has reached an all-time high. Not only is this impacting daily life in a major way, but efforts by one Berkshire Forest resident have also been ignored.
Introduction: What is the Garbage Truck Problem in Berkshire Forest?
The Garbage Truck Problem in Berkshire Forest is a weekly struggle for residents who have to deal with the constant noise and traffic of garbage trucks at 3:45 a.m. in Berkshire Forest. The problem has been going on for years, and there seems to be no end in sight. Residents have complained about the noise and traffic that the garbage trucks bring to their neighborhood during these early morning hours.
Resident Lisa Mulcahy even reached out her H.O.A. and Horry County Government.
RESPONSE FROM HORRY COUNTY
In an email sent out by Mulcahy in April:
Just checking to see if you got my prior email as the board at the HOA said they have no control when the garbage is picked up. Hoping the county will handle this tomorrow. Please advise of a number I can call tomorrow in case a officer is not here. Just FYI I will call every Friday to report this to the police until resolved. Unless I receive documentation from the county that they don’t need to obey the ordinance for noise. Over the run around from all you people.
On Wed, Apr 12, 2023, 9:50 AM Lisa Mulcahy <@gmail.com> wrote:
So what I understand from this email trash should not be picked up at this hour and you will have a officer come by between 3-4 a.m. to discuss the matter with the company? If they are here even after you call them later
On Wed, Apr 12, 2023, 8:34 AM Vaught, Tina <VaughtT@horrycountysc.gov> wrote:
Ms Mulcahy
I tried calling the business when I received your email, which it was closed. Did you call law enforcement when it occurred?
I will try to speak with company today after a meeting, but I will send officer out to keep check of the area, early Friday morning, unless they are on a call for service or responding to a priority call. I apologize for confusion, I wasn’t requesting or directing you to call for a trash truck, I thought maybe you had called police last week and I was looking for a call for service and could not find one. We actually get various calls of all nature however we are really trying to get communities to utilize the citizen reporting online for those incidents that may not require an officer to allow the police to be available for crimes in progress. I will reach out if I make contact with the company, and keep you abreast of what I may find to hopefully rectify this issue.
Mrs. Mulcahy then reached out to
From: Lisa Mulcahy <@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 13, 2023, 1:31 PM
Subject: Re: Berkshire Forest Contact the Board – Submission 4567168
To: Lisa Marie Rockwood <lmrockwood@associatedasset.com>, Jason Willard <Jason.Willard@delwebb.com>
I have went to the county and law enforcement will be here citing them. I am not sure how you have no control of when garbage is coming?? We are paying you for the service. I will be taking this to the media. Jason copying you on this response and if law enforcement can’t stop this I am going public with this issue with the garbage pickup time. This is not going to be pretty for the pulte since the HOA is privately hiring this company
On Thu, Apr 13, 2023, 1:25 PM Lisa Marie Rockwood <lmrockwood@associatedasset.com> wrote:
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for contacting the Board. The Board appreciates your feedback, but this matter is outside of their control.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Thank you,
Lisa Marie Rockwood, CMCA, AMS, PCAM
Community Manager
AAM, LLC
Berkshire Forest
843.236.7287
800.354.0257 (main line)
The issues of early morning garbage collection pickup continue in Berkshire Forest as of this publication.
Jason added:
On Mon, Apr 10, 2023, 7:46 PM Jason Willard <Jason.Willard@delwebb.com> wrote:
Thanks for letting me know. I have forwarded this to our HOA district team and they are going to discuss at their next meeting. They have discussed with the trash company and they said if they don’t start early beachside of the large number of residents they’re going to be going until late, maybe 9 or 10 o’clock at night, but they are going to see if there is another workaround. When I hear anything I will let you know.
Ways To Advocate for a Solution
Horry County wrote back:
Ms. Mulcahy,
I was advised that you had a concern with noise complaint in Berkshire Forest. I am unsure if your HOA has hired that company, or agreed to certain terms, however the simplest solution is for the HOA to address the company. Many times services for communities are competitive so they probably don’t want to lose that contract, so in turn they will comply. Second you could contact the company with the complaint, and make sure you have some evidence such as cameras with dates and times in the event it is a specific driver etc… if you get me the name of the company I will be glad to reach out as well, I can’t make any promise that they will comply but if it helps, we can try. You could also reach out to business license division and discuss the issue. There may be other complaints. Just a few suggestions.
In reference to noise ordinance, there is a noise ordinance and it can be found on the horry county government website. Just type in ordinances. However, there are specifics in what is considered a violation. I will try to send you a copy as well.
In regards to loud parties etc… many times the music is down before we arrive which makes it difficult for us to charge. If you see a party going before it gets out of control call dispatch and ask a supervisor to call you and let them know the issue. Let them know you would like to remain anonymous that way we could simply do a keep check and catch the loud noise, under age drinking or whatever the issue may be. As long as it occurs during the time frame and meets elements of a violation. Many times we will give a warning giving the subjects an opportunity to comply which is how we like to handle these type of complaints.
I am sorry you’re dealing with this. Unfortunately, we hear it quite frequently. In regards to the trash company, If you get me the name of the business I will try to reach out, I can’t promise I can make them stop , especially if they have some contract but I will try! In reference ti loud parties call 8432481520 if you see a party starting up and simply ask for a supervisor to call you and have a direct patrol due to a party etc. I will be in and out of the office this week with meetings and road dedication but please send me an email at vaughtt@horrycountysc.gov and one of my supervisors or I will do our best to help! Thank you for bringing your concerns to us.
There are a few ways that you can advocate for a solution to the garbage truck problem in Berkshire Forest. One way is to talk to your neighbors and see if they are having the same issue. If they are, you can start a petition or write a letter to the HOA board. Another way to advocate for a solution is to attend an HOA meeting and voice your concerns. You can also reach out to the city or county and let them know about the problem.