We sympathize with area residents near 19th Street who are upset over the city’s waste collection site. The site is large and ugly and, to put things in simple terms, not too many people would be happy with a dumpsite near their home.
We also understand the frustration from residents who were shocked to find the site located close to home without so much as a public forum or a notice of any kind.

But, to again put things in simple terms, after a devastating storm and an emergency situation that hobbled the whole region, virtually everything is less than ideal right now.

At present we have hundreds of people—whole families—who are living in tents. These people are waiting for homes to be gutted and fixed. The faster the debris can be sorted and carted off to the landfill, the faster the debris piles on Port Arthur streets will disappear and the faster we can get back to normal.

The unfortunate fact is, the city has to sort the debris somewhere. The reason Port Arthur—and every city—must sort through the debris is because we cannot simply dump everything on the curb in a hole in the ground and cover it up.

Readers who have visited the dump know this—there are restrictions on what can go into the landfill. Anyone concerned with environmental and health impacts should naturally support the garbage sorting process at the dumpsite.

OK, the dumpsites are not pretty.

And the issue would probably have arisen no matter where the site was located. Indeed, we are getting similar complaints from residents in Port Neches who live near that city’s dumpsite.

But they serve a greater good.

So far as anyone knows, the sites meet state safety and health guidelines and pose no known risk to anyone. This might be cold comfort to residents in the area, but the state is checking on the site to ensure environmental standards are kept in check.

Community activist Hilton Kelley is right to be concerned. The residents are right to be upset.
However, blocking access to the dumpsite or delaying the sorting of debris will not clean the air nor will it improve the lives of the people nearby to any measurable degree.

No, such grandstanding will do little to help the residents nearby but it will do something.

Delays will slow down debris collection. Delays will slow down repairs. Ultimately, delays could hurt the very men, women and children who are living in tents.