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Illegal Dumping Enforcement Program

Illegal Dumping Solutions for Municipalities

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Illegal dumping is out of hand and has become a major priority for municipalities looking for solutions.  Municipalities are under extreme scrutiny to clean up unlawfully dumped sites immediately and to prevent them from happening throughout the community. This daunting duty is never ending and very costly.  In order to stop this the harmful behavior, an Illegal Dumping Enforcement Program must be implemented with the sole duty to handle illegal dumping.

An Illegal Dumping Enforcement Program needs to have the cooperation of many departments and have the resources to be successful.  Because most unlawful dumping sites are remote, the problems municipalities face are unique.   In addition to the complaints from citizens, the cities need to be accountable to any disease that the community is susceptible to because of trash piles that harbor disease carrying rodents and insects that spread to humans.

If your city, is not able to collect evidence to convict in court, the perpetrators will continue the harmful activity of throwing their unwanted items into an unlawful heap they know of or create a new spot to dispose of their broken appliances, trashy furniture, or construction debris. There are many video surveillance systems out there to tempt procurement, but do they actually help?

Many cameras in use are easily destroyed or stolen. Others promise license plates but cannot capture images of evidence to convict.  Most systems require internet wiring or electricity, which is not practicable when the sites are remote and move around. Still others have batteries that need to be changed weekly or monthly.  Most importantly, the images captured do not meet the needs of a court case and are not permitted in use during prosecution.   In order to convict and generate revenue from collecting fees, the images and evidence must be beyond reproach, high resolution, and taper proof.

An Illegal Dumping Enforcement System must have the following:

  • Be Vandal resistant.
  • Not require electricity or internet connection.
  • Be easily deployed and moved to another site.
  • Have a long-lasting battery that does not need to be changed for years.
  • Capture Images of faces, tattoos, and the items dumped.
  • Capture license plates in complete darkness.

The solution to stop municipal illegal dumping is a successful Illegal Dumping Enforcement Program that is equipped with the right tools.

 

 

 

A fire at an Illegal Landfill

Illegal Dumping Resources for Municipalities

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Every municipality needs the appropriate resources to stop illegal dumping.

Unauthorized landfills are detrimental to the environment in many ways. Besides disease which is transferred to humans from rodents and insects that harbor within the debris and toxic pollution that enters the waterways, Illegal dumping can cause fires that decimate the environment.

In Southern Poland, a fire at an Illegal Landfill caused much damage to the environment.  During the fire pollutants were released into the air and soil. In the studies multiple toxins were discovered.

The trouble of illegal dumping is increasing every year.  The problem is there are not enough resources, or the resources used are ineffective to stop the issue.

The most effective Illegal Dumping Enforcement Programs are implemented using the right tools.  Some municipalities are using video surveillance, but the video footage does not produce the images the prosecutor needs to win a case.  There are many surveillance cameras being sold with the promise of license plates, but they cannot promise images of the person doing the actual dumping or evidence of what was dumped.  License plates readers and video surveillance have their place and can be helpful in many areas, but these resources are not enough for the illegal dumping application.

Here are some questions to consider when strengthening your Illegal Dumping Program:

  • Are your departments working together: Legislation, Code, Public Works, and Sanitation?
  • Is your municipality providing enough toxic waste programs for your community?
  • Are you educating the community on the environmental dangers?
  • Is it easy for the citizens to lawfully dispose of their trash and unwanted items?
  • Have you deployed Illegal Dumping Cameras, specifically designed with the illegal dumping application in mind?
  • Are the Illegal dumping fines strict enough to deter illegal dumping?

An effective Illegal Dumping Camera must be able to be placed in remote areas where there is no internet and no electricity, must be able to capture high resolution images of long range details that will stand up in court, must be able to capture license plates in complete darkness, and must be resistant to vandalism and theft. If your illegal dumping cameras do not have these capabilities, then you do not have the right tool.

Make sure your municipality has the resources needed to stop illegal dumping.

 

 

 

 

How to Prevent Illegal Dumping

How to Prevent Illegal Dumping

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Municipalities are looking for ways to prevent illegal dumping in their community.  Illegal dumping occurs in alleyways, clearings in remote areas, and generally anywhere the perpetrators believe they will not be caught.

Regrettably, illegal dumping causes great harm to the environment, which in turn causes humans to face disease and toxic water pollution. Most citizens value their community; however, it only takes a few bad apples to cause problems for the rest of the population.

To prevent the spread of disease and water pollution, every municipality must create an Illegal Dumping Prevention Program.

Here are some important topics to discuss that should be included in the Illegal Dumping Prevention Program.

 

Illegal Dumping Prevention Program.

A Successful Illegal Dumping Prevention Program involves many departments within the city.

  • Education: Educate the community about the hazards and the cost of illegal dumping.
  • Hotlines: Hotlines are a very useful tool when there are witnesses nearby.
  • Social Media Program: Get help from the community to identify perpetrators.
  • Legislation: Legislate stiff fines to prevent illegal dumping.
  • Enforcement: Enforce, respond, investigate, and make sure you have prosecutable images.
  • Staff Resources: Dedicated people to take charge of the Illegal Dumping Prevention Program.

 

Eliminate the blight and disease illegal dumping brings to the community.  Create an Illegal Dumping Prevention Program!

 

#noillegaldumping #stopillegaldumping #publicworks

 

PFAs in Illegal Dumping Sites

PFAs in Illegal Dumping Sites

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Per-and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAs) are toxic chemicals that are showing up in illegal dump sites.

This is what the EPA says about PFAs:

  • PFAS are widely used, long lasting chemicals, components of which break down very slowly over time.
  • Because of their widespread use and their persistence in the environment, many PFAS are found in the blood of people and animals all over the world and are present at low levels in a variety of food products and in the environment.
  • PFAS are found in water, air, fish, and soil at locations across the nation and the globe.
  • Scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals.
  • There are thousands of PFAS chemicals, and they are found in many different consumer, commercial, and industrial products. This makes it challenging to study and assess the potential human health and environmental risks.

Illegal dump sites are usually remote areas that are still convenient enough for people to illegally discard their bulky items, tires, and construct debris. Unlawfully deposed unwanted items contaminate the area in so many ways.  One of the most concerning threats is toxic waste entering the drinking water.  A big culprit for this type of pollution is tires.

The increasing alarm is the breakdown of tires which contain PFAs. These PFAs enter the soil, ground water, and the air, especially if they burn.  Tires left in an unsafe procedure can easily ignite causing a fire that can spread at a rapid pace causing immense damage.

In 2016, high levels of PFAs were detected in the soil, air, and drinking water. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Agency detected PFAs in private wells and the surrounding area and was able to identify the source from the massive tire fire from 1986 and the firefighting foam used to fight the fire.

Although the Pennsylvania fire was not an illegal dumping site, anyone can see multiple tires in an illegal dump site. This is why it is so important to stop the practice of unlawful dumping.  Illegal dumping is harming the safety of our very lives.  In order to stop illegal dumping an Illegal Dumping Enforcement Program must be implemented.