Protecting our Water- Preventing Illegal Dumping
Without water all living things will die, therefore it is imperative that we prevent illegal dumping from entering the water systems.
Illegal dumping is a worldwide problem, from small country towns to large metropolises. If left unchecked the trash piles enter the water sources, which contaminates the very water people and animals rely on. According to the EPA, Trash can travel throughout the world’s rivers and oceans, accumulating on beaches and within gyres. This debris harms physical habitats, transports chemical pollutants, threatens aquatic life, and interferes with human uses of river, marine and coastal environments.
To prevent illegal dumping, municipalities need to implement a successful Illegal Dumping Program. To make an Illegal Dumping Program meet the standards of prevention, the program must show that the activity is decreasing.
The question communities should be asking is, “What causes dumpers to decide not to leave their trash.”
The Illegal Dumping Program should have multiple departments working together to create the program, because it involves legislation, enforcement, education, clean-up effort, and the ability to purchase Illegal Dumping Prevention Systems, that are specifically designed to prevent the act and secure high-resolution images that can identify faces, tattoos, items dumped, and license plates in complete darkness.
- Are you cleaning up the trash regularly to stop the magnet effect?
- Are you able to capture images with details needed to prosecute?
- Are you able to quickly move your systems to other locations?
- Do your systems have features to deter crime before it happens?
- Can your systems be placed where there is no electricity or internet connection?
- Are your fines tough enough to make dumpers think twice?
Most dumping occurs in remote areas, making it necessary to have systems that can provide details needed without electricity or internet connection. This is not just about cleaning up and hoping the trash doesn’t come back – this is about stopping the crime.
Prevent Illegal dumping in your community and protect the water sources.