- Video shows 80-year-old Carol McGonigal talking about her recent experience with Omaha's special collection service
- FCC says they will be sending an inspector for the next month to make sure McGonigal's trash bins are put back in the correct spot
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Last week, Carol McGonigal's trash bins were misplaced - here - blocking off her garage. I'm Jill Lamkins, your Northwest Omaha neighborhood reporter here in Keystone…where I spoke to Carol about how this poses a challenge for her as a handicapped woman.
She's a part of Omaha's special collection service.
Registered people 70 or older with a disability can leave their trash bins close to their homes.
Solid waste workers then take the carts to the truck.
"So, all I have to do is reach down and put my trash in there."
And while it’s supposed to make it easier for her...Carol says four to five times now her bins have been misplaced.
Making it hard for her to leave when the bins ended up blocking her garage door the last time it happened.
"What if there was an emergency and I had to get out, you know, that would take that much more time."
On Monday, Carol had a doctor’s appointment to get to leaving her with only one option to ask her neighbors Aileen and Dan to help move the bins.
"I don't think they realize when you're handicapped there's just things you can't do, and she definitely can't do that."
Carol says she's thankful to have her neighbors because asking for help can be hard sometimes when other neighbors are working during the day.
"It's kind of hard for me to ask somebody to do something that somebody else should have done."
Carol has been in communication with the FCC, but I also reached out.
They told me that the contractors should be putting the bins within a couple of feet, if not in the exact spot where they found them.
To help resolve this issue, they plan on following up with the service at Carol's house on a weekly basis for about a month.
If you have a similar issue, you can call FCC at 402-281-0786.
"There's no job that is not worth doing and doing correctly and with pride."
At the end of the day, Carol says she just wants the solid waste workers to take pride in what they do...and that placing her bins in the right spot can go a long way. In Keystone, I'm your Northwest Omaha neighborhood reporter, Jill Lamkins for 3 News Now.
