‘Raft of floating garbage’ getting cleaned up at Highland Road Park

BREC says it’s in the process of cleaning up piles of trash along Bayou Fountain in Highland Road Park that recently caught the attention of neighbors, one of whom posted photos of the debris on the BREC Facebook page. BREC Director of Communication Cheryl Michelet says orders to get the mess picked up were sent as soon as they saw the post on Monday. “It won’t take us long,” Michelet says, adding BREC has put out a call for volunteers to help with the clean up and has also asked the city-parish public works department to assist. Bayou Manchac Group President Jonathan Scott says he spotted the trash pile again Thursday after seeing a photo of it posted on Sunday, adding it measures about 30 yards long and is blocking up Bayou Fountain. “It’s a big raft of floating garbage,” he says. Michelet says she couldn’t estimate how much trash was at the site, but notes it’s located in a lower part of Highland Road Park in a wooded area. “This is a part of the park that is not in the public view,” she says. “We got all that rain, and flood waters brought the trash into the wooded area.” Michelet says BREC encourages residents to notify the department of such issues at its parks and facilities via Facebook, e-mail, and phone calls. “When we get these reports, we’re glad because they’re our eyes out there, and these problems need to be fixed,” she says. You can check out a photo of the trash posted on the Facebook page here. —Matthew Sigur