ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — Piles of discarded furniture, tires and trash continue to appear on streets in East Albany, according to city leaders and residents.

The 900 block of Frotscher Street is one of several locations in Albany where items have been left on the side of the road.

City commissioner describes impact

Jon Howard, who represents the people of East Albany, showed different areas where junk has been dumped on the side of the road.

“You’re going to always have some humans that don’t respect the environment. For somebody to do this right here, it really hurts the community,” Howard said.

Items found on Frotscher Street included tires, couches, cushions and containers filled with trash.

Howard said the majority of residents in his area are older people who rent homes. He said in many instances, people abandon properties or do not maintain them.

“It’s not only in Albany. It’s in cities where you got a high population of renters and landlords just don’t care,” Howard said.

Group says reporting depends on residents

Members of Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful said there are resources and options available for people to dispose of trash, but addressing the problem requires a collective effort.

“But mainly, we have to rely on the residents to be our eyes and ears to see these things and to be able to recognize. If we don’t know anything about it, we can’t do anything about it,” said Jwana Washington, with Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful.

Residents can contact Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful to learn about resources and ways to get rid of trash safely.

Business owner reacts

Gordon Hall, a business owner of 40 years, said seeing trash in his neighborhood is disturbing. He said cleanliness is important and people should be more careful.

“I don’t like it. People should be more aware of that. Cleanliness is important. The city should be clean,” Hall said.

Leaders said residents who see illegal dumping can call 311 to report it or take items to the Dougherty County landfill.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and X. For more south Georgia news, download the WALB News app and add WALB as a preferred source on Google.

Copyright 2026 WALB. All rights reserved.