Fort Washington Residents Demand Action Against Illegal Trash Dumping

Along Livingston Road in Fort Washington, on any given day, you can find old tires, furniture, beds, beer bottles, and a toilet discarded on the roadside. Residents say the situation has pushed them past their breaking point, and they are now demanding Prince George's County Council and police take concrete action against illegal dumping.

Lori Champion, a Fort Washington resident and member of the community group "We deserve better in PG County," says the trash is impossible to ignore. "You will see bottles of liquor and water bottles and fast-food bags, and I want to know why. Litter is such a senseless crime, and you don't even have to do it, there is no reason to do it," Champion said.

The frustration runs deeper than aesthetics. Residents argue that Fort Washington and the broader southern portion of Prince George's County have long been overlooked when it comes to enforcement. "We just want some attention here on the southern part of the county where the illegal dumping and littering is too much to take," one resident said.

Rather than wait for county action, neighbors have organized a Saturday morning cleanup to clear the accumulated debris themselves. Yashan Franklin, one of the residents coordinating the effort, framed the cleanup as a declaration of civic pride rather than a concession. "We care about our community, and we take pride in our community, and we have invested in our community. And we've paid tax dollars to go towards the cleanliness of it," Franklin said.

Still, residents are clear that volunteering to clean up someone else's mess is not a long-term solution. They want Prince George's County Council and law enforcement to identify and prosecute those responsible. Under county rules, anyone caught illegally dumping trash can face fines ranging from $100 up to $1,000, though residents say enforcement has not been visible enough to deter the problem on Livingston Road.

No official response from the County Council, the police department, or county code enforcement had been provided as of this reporting. The community group "We deserve better in PG County" continues to press for accountability and sustained attention to a neighborhood that has spent years asking to be treated as a priority.