EUGENE, Ore. — The Bethel neighborhood in Eugene is seeing positive strides toward reclaiming a notorious dumping site, once a constant eyesore near the Danebo Ponds. The privately-owned vacant lot had accumulated tons of garbage over the last few years, turning it into a hazardous dumping ground. However, with the city’s intervention and the assistance of a local company, residents are beginning to see hope.
The landowner, after being contacted by the city, enlisted the help of Gazelle LLC, a local company based in Lane County, to clear the debris. Jeff Ghazal, owner of Gazelle LLC, reported that his team had already removed an impressive 90 yards of trash. However, he stressed that the job was far from complete, with much more waste to be cleared.
“So far, we’ve done 90 yards of trash or garbage, and as far as what I’m seeing, it actually seems more of a dumping site and illegal dumping site than a homeless-like camp,” Ghazal explained.
The cleanup process was temporarily halted due to the persistent rain, which made the ground too muddy for workers to safely continue. Despite this setback, the progress so far has brought a sense of optimism to the nearby residents who have watched the area deteriorate over the years.
Wayne Fedderson, a longtime resident of the Bethel community, has witnessed the lot’s transformation firsthand. Having lived in the neighborhood for over 40 years, Fedderson said the property had never been an issue until the late 2010s when the situation began to worsen. Now, with the ongoing cleanup efforts, there’s a palpable sense of relief among those living nearby.
While the cleanup is seen as a step in the right direction, many residents are cautious about the future. Chris Barnett, who lives just a few hundred feet from the site, voiced concerns that once the trash is removed, the land may fall back into disrepair.
“I was happy to see the trash leaving. I just wish there was a more permanent place for those people to go to have a safe place,” Barnett said. “A lot of times, they move from this site to another site and they leave all of their trash over there and start all over.”
This sentiment is echoed by other community members who fear that, despite the immediate cleanup, the site may once again become a dumping ground without more lasting solutions.
Ghazal acknowledged the scale of the task, describing the project as one of the largest and most challenging he has ever undertaken. “I personally have never seen or worked on a job anything like this one,” Ghazal said. “I’ve seen other areas of Eugene that look exactly like that, but as far as for me and the business goes, it’s the first time I’ve seen something like this in depth, in terms of how much garbage people left here.”
As the weather improves and the soil becomes less muddy, Ghazal and his team are ready to return to complete the cleanup. In the meantime, residents hope that the city and landowners will consider long-term solutions to prevent the area from becoming another hotspot for illegal dumping.
For now, the cleanup represents a hopeful turning point for the Bethel community, but many are waiting to see if the cleanup efforts will spark broader changes that will address the root causes of illegal dumping in the area.
