Lehigh Acres resident tackles roadside debris to protect community

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. —

Kayla Giorgio, a resident of Lehigh Acres, has been dedicated to cleaning up trash across the Gulf Coast for about a year, aiming to keep her community clean and safe from hazardous debris.

Giorgio expressed concern about the lack of proper cleanups, saying, "No cleanups being properly done, and everything is just ending up everywhere, all over the streets and our ditches and our canals, our waterways. I mean, it's going everywhere, and it's a hazard for us."

Giorgio and her son, Tegan, have been picking up trash from parking lots and random places where major debris piles up. "Parking lots, just random places, anywhere that I see a major debris piled up. I just get out, and I take buckets and a trash picker, and I pick it up," Giorgio said. Tegan added, "It feels good because we're helping the Earth."

As a DoorDash driver, Giorgio spends nearly 14 hours on the road and has noticed a significant amount of debris from accidents and construction sites. "I've seen a lot of debris coverage from accidents, construction sites, just I mean, basically, there's trash. Trash everywhere. There's debris. Absolutely spreading through both Lehigh and Fort Myers. And it's constant every day," she said.

Recently, Giorgio found a large bolt in the middle of the road on Alabama Road and SR 82 in Lehigh Acres, which she was able to pick up before it caused damage to her or another driver's car. "Having these obstacles in our roadway, it's going to make it tougher for us to live if we if something happens to our cars," Giorgio said.

Giorgio hopes more will be done to keep hazardous debris off the road, suggesting, "They should have a pickup crew come behind and at least clean up the scene and the road where they're at."

Lee County officials have been contacted to learn if any reports have been made about cars being damaged from debris on the road, and they plan to provide more information on Monday.

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