Willie Morrow has been an East Cleveland resident for 46 years. And he never thought that the view from his front porch would be essentially a waste dump.
An estimated 2 million yards of waste and construction debris, piled up over the past few years by Arco Recycling. The Environmental Protection Agency finally stepped in to say...enough.
"The EPA is about a year and a half too late," Morrow says. "Because we've been complaining to them too."
The Ohio EPA shut down the site, declaring it an unpermitted landfill. In the meantime, former mayor Eric Brewer worked with Auburn Environmental to understand the harm that has already taken places.
"To summarize I found a combination of toxic gas and toxic particles both on the outside and inside of the property," reports Jim Riffle of Auburn Environmental.
Brewer adds, "They had no legal authority from the city council in East Cleveland to open."
But the damage has already been done to the neighborhood, and residents' feelings.
"I think it's disrespectful, says resident Harvett Ellington. "It's like saying the people of East Cleveland are trash. We're not trash, we're human beings."
The EPA has given Arco Recycling two weeks to clean up or face further actions. Willie Morrow is skeptical, to say the least.
"How they gonna clean that up in 2 weeks? They got a big job over there to do."