After spending weeks on ships stuck off the coast of the United States, shipping containers are reportedly being dumped in nearby neighborhoods.
Since the 24/7 operations of offloading cargo ships in Los Angeles and Long Beach ports have started, new problems arose, such as getting rid of the shipping containers used to transport goods. âMany of the shipping containers that spent weeks onboard ships waiting to be unloaded are now being dumped in nearby neighborhoods once theyâre emptied,â CBSLA reported.
UCTI Trucking Company, located in Wilmington, California, only has the capacity of holding 65 containers, the report said. As a result of limited space, the trucking company has been lining the streets of the nearby neighborhood in front of the homes of nearby residents.
âItâs a bunch of neighbors that are very upset because itâs a non-stop situation,â said Sonia Cervantes, who lives on Anaheim Street, where the company is located. âI would have to go in at 6:30 a.m. to go to work. There was a trailer already blocking my driveway, so I couldnât get out. With no driver in the trailer, so we would honk and honk, and it was just crazy.â
âTheyâre sitting in the street for like 15, 20 minutes. Sometimes they just unload the trailer in the street with no front part of it, and they just leave it there,â Cervantes added.
Owner of UCTI Trucking, Frank Arrieran, told CBSLA: âRight now with the ports and everything thatâs going on over there, weâre stuck with the containers, having to bring them all to the yard, and we only have so much space.â
The local news organization spoke with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who said President Joe Bidenâs administration is working to find short and long-term solutions to the continuing cargo ship crisis.â
âThere are so many pieces to the supply chain, and most of them are in private hands,â Buttigieg told CBSLA.â But what we found is that the administration can act as an honest broker, and thatâs what weâre doing, getting the different players together and securing commitments that are going to make a difference to get these goods flowing.â
âThere are $17 billion in port improvements in the Presidentâs infrastructure bill, and theyâre urgently needed. This is one of the reasons why weâre eager to see congressional action, and I know my department is ready to put those dollars to work,â Buttigieg added.
However, up until recently, Buttigiegâs whereabouts have been questioned while the crisis has been ongoing. Politicoâs West Wing Playbook confirmed that Buttigieg was âlying low.â
âThey didnât previously announce it, but Buttigiegâs office told West Wing Playbook that the secretary has actually been on paid leave since mid-August to spend time with his husband, Chasten, and their two newborn babies,â Playbook reported.
While the secretary finds his way back to work amid the ongoing crisis, Arrerian, said his company is âdoing everything they can to ease the congestion on the streetâ in addition to asking the surrounding residents to understand.
âWeâve been messed with tickets and being harassed,â Arrerian added. âWe ask the community to help us because weâre only in the middle.â
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter.