Family struggles to get trashbin replaced after car rams into home

Click here for updates on this story

    OMAHA, NE (WOWT) — People in Omaha have spent the week adjusting to the new garbage hauler.

One of the biggest is with those bins.

They come with some responsibility to take care of them but what happens if something happens through no fault of our own?

When a car slammed into Patricia Soash’s home at 30th Street and Ellison Avenue last month, the one thing that may have kept the car from landing in her living room was her new waste bin.

“See, my chair is on the other side of that wall. And that’s where I was sitting,” she recalled.

The recycle bin was spared but the trashcan now sits on the other side of the porch, torn apart and filled with trash.

“We tried to move it [to the curb] but everything started falling apart,” Soash said.

The bin that was damaged after the accident is in such condition, an FCC truck isn’t going to be able to pick it up without spilling trash everywhere.

The family has been calling the city and FCC for a new bin in time for their Friday pick up day.

“There was no answering machine, nothing,” Soash said.

FCC has made it clear – it won’t pick up trash unless it’s in an FCC bin.

“That’s what frustrating. Nobody would answer the phone for us to explain anything,” she said.

According to wasteline.org, a website dedicated to the city’s solid waste program: homeowners are responsible for protecting and not abusing their carts. In the case of normal wear and tear, FCC Environmental will repair the cart at no cost to you. But should you put something like hot coals, you are responsible for repair or replacement.

“We didn’t ask those people to hit the house. All we’re trying to do is get it replaced,” Soash explained.

So what if something happens you didn’t do?

When 6 News called FCC Environmental, a representative added Patricia’s address to the list of homes scheduled for a replacement waste cart.

“Alright, we’ll get it added to our list. We got quite a few going out tomorrow,” they said.

This was certainly an extreme case — but a reminder that the company expects you to take care of your waste bin.

In case of theft, waste and recycle bins have assigned serial numbers. So homeowners shouldn’t steal someone else’s cart.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.