How does Leona use the garbage from the lot to her advantage in Seedfolks?

In Leona's chapter, she tells us how she takes it upon
herself to force the local government to tidy up the lot and clear away all of the
garbage that are preventing the residents from making the most of the lot to build and
develop their gardens. Leona tells us that due to the unique educational situation that
her children face everyday, she is no stranger to contacting officials and getting them
to act:

I've
got two kids in a high school that has more guns than books, so I know all about
complaining to officials and such about things that need
changing.

After trying to
contact the relevant authorities and being passed on from department to department,
Leona decides to go in person to the Public Health Department to describe face to face
the kind of trash that covers the lot. When she is told to sit down and wait until she
can be seen Leona reveals her secret weapon. She has brought some of the garbage from
the lot with her, and opens the bag whilst she waits:

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The smell that came out of it made you think of
hog pens and maggots and kitchen scraps from back when Nixon was president. It was
amazing how quick people noticed it, including the
receptionist.

Thus it is that
Leona uses the garbage from the lot to force the Public Health Department to clean up
the garbage.