HEATH SPRINGS, S.C. — A rotten-smelling and dirty eyesore is only getting worse in the town of Heath Springs. Several people contacted Eyewitness News after they watched a huge dumpster slowly fill up with trash for months until it overflowed.
About 800 people are fed up with the sight and the smell.
"It's horrible. You can smell it yourself," said Elizabeth Harden, who runs a day care about 50 yards away from the dumpster. "The children are our safety concern. I mean, you know, this is two doors down from children and you don't do anything about it?"
The dumpster was placed in front of the old S & G Minimart after it caught fire and was destroyed last summer. The dumpster was filled with debris when the store was torn down. Now, it's an illegal dumping site for household trash with bags littering the ground around it.
"You know, everybody rides by, and instead of going to the dump, just throws it over there," Shirley Adams said.
The gas pumps and one large sign are all that's left of the Minimart. The property appears to be abandoned, and neighbors said there was once a for sale sign on the property, but it's no longer there.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control told residents there's likely asbestos from the old store beneath all of the trash in the large dumpster.
Heath Springs Mayor Eddie Moore told Channel 9 the town is committed to solving the problem, but the owners, who live out of state, haven't been cooperating, Moore said.
"The owners have failed to work with us. This does not represent Heath Springs at all. This has always been a very clean town," Moore said.
The owner of the dumpster apparently told residents he can't move it because of the asbestos material that may be in there. After several calls from frustrated neighbors, someone painted over the phone number on the side of the dumpster. It's been blotted out with red paint.
The town of Heath Springs sent a letter to the property owners in the first week of June giving them 20 days to get the dumpster moved off the property. There are only a few days left, and the mayor said the owners have not responded.
Channel 9 tried reaching the property owners Wednesday, but the town's business license lists only the business name, not the names of owners or any contact phone numbers.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control sent Channel 9 the below statement Wednesday:
DHEC has been in contact with the owner and his agent to inform them that an asbestos abatement permit is needed to remove the dumpster. To date we have not received a permit application. This matter has been referred to DHEC’s Bureau of Air Quality Enforcement Section for resolution.