'I’ve found syringes there … condoms’: People concerned, fed up with littering in Lynchburg shopping center

Trail of trash fills wooded area near the Old Forest Road Walmart

LYNCHBURG, Va. – “My dog loves it, so he drags me to it every single time,” Bunny Goodjohn, concerned citizen, said.

Every few months, the smell of trash attracts Goodjohn’s dog whenever they walk the parking lot of the Walmart on Old Forest Road.

“I think because they’ve cleared out this area and cut the grass. It just looks a whole lot worse now. But the trash is the same all year whether it’s the summer or in the winter,” Goodjohn said.

Goodjohn and others can’t help but notice the trash trail left in the woods behind the guardrails.

Lynchburg community members share littering concerns

You can see plastic bags tangled in branches, paper, water bottles, soda cans, clothes and shattered bowls.

“Obviously, I kind of don’t go over here because it’s so trashy. I don’t want the dog to get sick or hurt, but if you actually walk out into the areas of the parking lot, where it’s planted, I’ve found syringes there … condoms,” Goodjohn said.

It’s so bad, Goodjohn took her concerns to Facebook.

10 News spoke with another walker who didn’t want to do an on-camera interview.

He told 10 News reporter Magdala Louissaint that in the decades he’s exercised around the parking lot, this is the worst he’s ever seen it.

“There’s a lake at the back. There are foxes apparently and ground hogs, geese, and ducks and trash. If we can get rid of the trash, I think it will be a nicer space for us.”

Goodjohn reached out to city councilman Beau Wright about her concerns.

10 News spoke with him too. He said he’s taking the issue to the city attorney to see how often city leaders enforce litter violations and what the enforcement procedure looks like.

Goodjohn said she’s not sure who owns the land near the grocery store.

I went inside to ask myself and one employee couldn't tell me either, but said they'd pass along my contact information.

Goodjohn says until it's figured out, there's at least one solution.

“Maybe it’s down to just accepting the fact that Lynchburg can’t afford to clean this up. So maybe the community could work with local companies and do some community cleaning up.”