Off-campus residents blame lax code enforcement and ill-mannered students for the litter problem afflicting the neighborhoods in the vicinity of Ohio State.

Greg Jones, a 10-year resident of the north campus area, said he has tried to get city officials to enforce its litter codes on numerous occasions, but to no avail.

“You can mention rats, the potential for disease, or the negative appearance of the neighborhood this creates … nothing works,” he said.

Picking up trash around his home has become a part of Jones’ daily routine.

“The paper trash is often wet and hard to pick up, and a few neighbors who worked as a group in the past years have given up and moved out, sick of dealing with a population that is rude, loud and unappreciative of your efforts,” he said.

Much of the trash is the result of spillage from 90-gallon refuse containers that often overflow or are knocked over, and the city has a code that is intended to prevent refuse from ending up on the ground, but is not enforced, he said.

The city code Jones refers to reads as follows: “Residents shall remove any waste container(s) or automated collection container other than 300 gallon containers and Dumpsters from the point of collection (public right-of-way) within 24 hours of the collection and store such containers until 12 hours prior to the next scheduled collection.”

Jones said the trash problem is more than likely perpetual because the transient nature of student renters makes them indifferent to investing in the area.

The only way to make the area better is to “enforce the laws already on the books,” he said.

Pasquale Grado, executive director of the University Community Business Association and campus-area resident, said the trash and litter problem has become worse over the last few years, but the trouble is not limited to the University District.

He said the Hilltop and South Linden areas of the city have problems analogous to the University District because of the high volume of rental properties.

“Rental properties equate few calls (complaints) because they are not owner operated,” he said.

The city does not have enough police or code enforcement officers to enforce the multiple problems of the University District, said Don Knox, a resident of the campus area since 1963.

However, he said the city uses its lack of resources as an excuse not to deter annoyances in the University District.

The trash problem started in the mid-1980s with the arrival of the poorly disciplined children of the baby boomers, he said.

“That unruly group is a small, small percent of the population,” he said. “Unfortunately, their influence exceeds their actual numbers. Human beings have a tendency to imitate. They need to be accountable for their actions.”

City officials say the blame should be placed on those who litter — not on the limited resources of the city.

Councilwoman Maryellen O’Shaughnessy said she is well aware a serious litter problem exists in the University District.

The trash problem has multiple sources ranging from wind-blown trash caused by teeming containers and un-bagged garbage to litterbugs, she said.

“It’s easy for students to move into a neighborhood and not put a name and face to the people who live down the street,” she said. “Sometimes people have a problem with respecting where they live. They have to take some initiative to be responsible.”

O’Shaughnessy said the city is “very involved” with refuse collection in the University District, but it is difficult to effectively dispose of refuse because the dense population causes trash problems that other parts of the city do not experience.

“You just can’t throw up your hands in despair and walk away. You have to continue addressing the issues,” she said.

Linda LaCloche, spokeswoman for the Columbus Division of Development, said a lack of communication between the city and its residents is the reason a rift exists, and it is essential to have effective communication because the city responds to code enforcement issues based on the volume of complaints it receives from residents.

“We are working on ways to make our service better,” she said. “We are working hard to keep communication open and improve our neighborhoods. We encourage the university organizations to inform us so we can work on these areas together.”

She said representatives from the CDD would be happy to accept invitations from residents of any part of the city to attend meetings to address neighborhood problems.

Littering is a third-degree misdemeanor punishable by two months in jail and a $500 fine.