While Flint, Michigan is still trying to work its way out of the water crisis that left residents of all ages with lead-contaminated drinking water, new problems are starting to appear. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver released a statement notifying residents that they should not place their trash on the curb because collection has been suspended until further notice. 

According to CNN, the city has failed to sign a new waste collection contract after their previous contract with a company called Republic Services expired. Until they can get this done, no one is expected to be able to pickup and dispose of the city’s garbage.

“Due to the circumstances, there will be no trash pickup in the city starting this Monday,” Mayor Weaver’s statement reads. “Until a new agreement is officially in place, we ask that residents not set their trash out at the curb.”

While responsibility for this scheduling misstep is suspected to be shared by both Weaver and local government officials, Flint City Council President Kerry L. Nelson said in a statement that “the interruption of waste collection services in the city of Flint is exclusively the decision of Mayor Karen Weaver.”

Whether it is due to a suffering economy or local government mismanagement, it appears as if living in Flint is far more difficult than it should be. If things are so rough that the government is cutting trash pickup, it may be time for some drastic changes in leadership.

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