GARDEN CITY, Idaho — Zach Hylton is a Boise resident who has lived in Idaho his entire life. He frequently uses the greenbelt to walk and recently sent Idaho News 6 photos of trash buildup on the Boise River.
He says he has waited weeks for Garden City to clean the area but has yet to see any action.
- Hylton says a similar incident happened five years ago calling the situation a 'Disaster'
- Idaho News 6 has contacted Garden City and they plan to address the area
- No timetable has been set but cleanup has taken place at other points along the river
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
"It makes me sad and it makes me angry. This river is really the heartbeat or the lifeblood of this city quite honestly and we really got to protect it. It's really fragile," said Zach Hylton, Boise resident.
Zach Hylton has lived in Idaho his entire life calling the Boise area home for more than 17 years.
He contacted us concerned about trash and debris piling up along the river.
"This situation here doesn't seem to be getting the attention it deserves," said Hylton.
A situation he says isn't new.
"About 5 years ago we had a similar problem on this side of the river, and it was a disaster," said Hylton.
I wanted to see for myself what Hylton was talking about so I crossed the river and went off the path where I eventually found empty bottles, bicycle parts, a tent, and a man who told me he's lived there for more than two years.
I talked with the city and they said this isn't the first time. They've cleaned up other abandoned camps recently including just earlier this week near Ustick.
While talking with the city, they told me they plan to address this specific area soon.
Hylton says he hopes cities near the greenbelt hear his call to action and respond to trash build-up like this.
"The more people that move in here, the more trash we are going to see, the more not really destruction but the potential destruction we might see and I think we all have to work together to keep it," said Hylton.
