AMHERST - Bags of trash, cereal boxes, books, a broken chair and a wide-brimmed hat were among the items that flies and bees were inspecting near two empty Dumpsters at the Colonial Village apartment complex Tuesday.

So why was the trash in two piles on the ground while the Dumpsters were empty? Property manager Patrick Kamins explained that many tenants moved out at the end of August, and their trash exceeded the space available in the Dumpsters. New tenants arriving over the last week have added to the piles as they removed trash left in the units, and haulers removed only what was in the Dumpsters, he said.

This is the busiest time of the year for property managers, and the staff members are overloaded, Kamins said. Weve been hauling trash for days, he said.

The problem is typical for early September in Amherst, but the amount of trash outside the Colonial Village Dumpsters is greater than normal, he said.

Kamins said he hopes all the trash will be picked up by today.

NICK GRABBE