The City of Jackson has recently had a real problem on its hands: who is going to pick up the trash. The city’s contract with Waste Management expired on March 31. With the City Council unable to renew the contract, many citizens began to see delayed garbage pickup, and some have not had their garbage picked up since the beginning of April.

Due to this development, Mayor Antar Lumumba decided to issue an emergency contract to Richard’s Disposal. The City Council voted against this contract, so the two sides have gone to court. The dispute is currently in Circuit Court and has yet to be resolved.

Scott Spivey, father of junior Riley Spivey, said, “Our service hasn’t been interrupted at all, but from a customer perspective, the controversy between the mayor and the city council is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. (That’s a paraphrase of Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Life is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.)”

For now, Waste Management and Richard’s disposal will continue to pick up waste, but many Jackson residents are ready for this dispute to be over so that their garbage can be picked up consistently.