Jackson Free Press logo

This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) ā€” Homeless people could be hired to help cleanup massive illegal dump sites in the capital city, Jacksonā€™s mayor said.

The idea is one of several being explored as the city looks for ways to clean up the trash thatā€™s become a persistent problem in parts of the city, WLBT-TV reported.

The homeless would be compensated for the work, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said.

Lumumba also said he wants to get garbage bins for each household.

City officials are searching for a comprehensive way of addressing litter, the mayor added.

As the cityā€™s garbage collection contract expires, officials are asking garbage companies to submit plans on how they can help the city clean up the dump sites.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.