Occupy LA Leaves Behind 30 Tons of Trash

When the protesters of Occupy LA vacated their encampment, they left behind 30 tons of debris. Sanitation workers have already removed 25 tons of garbage, clothes, and random belongings—all of which went to a landfill, the Los Angeles Times reports. Protesters, who lived in the tent city for two months, left behind not just trashed protest signs and food, but everything from mattresses to electric razors to bicycles to a treehouse—and, of course, dozens of tents.

According to the AP, the site doesn't smell so great, either—specifically, it reeks of "urine and unwashed bodies." The grass is ruined, trees are damaged, there's graffiti on the walls of City Hall and on statues, and there are rumors of a lice or flea infestation. The site is "so contaminated, it doesn't even make sense to sort [the left-behind belongings] out," says a sanitation superintendent. There were rows of portable toilets, but protesters still urinated in bottles that must now be disposed of. Says a city refuse collection supervisor, "I've never seen anything like this." (More Occupy Los Angeles stories.)