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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

 

Proactive Against Illegal Dumping

Proactive Against Illegal Dumping

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Illegal Dumping is a community curse that requires proactive measures that stop illegal dumping before it happens.

Illegal Dumping is not just trash that is thrown from a car. Illegal dumping usually involves big items like refrigerators, tires, couches, and construction debris left in remote areas.  An out of the way, remote area can be an off road clearing in the forest, a vacant lot, a hidden alleyway, or a road behind a store front.  All these areas get hit by offenders leaving their unwanted items for the rest of the community to take care of.

Cities are tasked with the burden to create legislation that will offset the expense illegal dumping causes, which can be very expensive especially if the clean up involves environmental water pollution.  A lot of citizens don’t want punishment even for offenders, but the alternative is pollution and disease.

Therefore, legislators need to purchase tools that are specifically designed to be proactive in stopping illegal dumping.  The city of Seattle cleans up 2 million tons of trash a year and it costs 1.7 million dollars and they are ready to be proactive in stopping the problem.

Being proactive against illegal dumping means doing something different and using tools that are effective in areas traditional surveillance is not.

Here are the questions to ask when being proactive:

  • Are there enough legal waste disposal sites?
  • Are there programs in place to rally the disposal of hazardous waste, and large items?
  • Are there educational programs in place to raise awareness of the programs in place and the hazards associated with illegal dumping?
  • Are the fines high enough to discourage illegal dumping?
  • Have Illegal Dumping Cameras been deployed at the sites?
  • Do the Illegal Dumping Cameras capture images and license plates?
  • Are the Illegal Dumping Cameras vandal resistant?
  • Are the Illegal Dumping Cameras able to be placed in remote areas where no electricity or internet connection is available?

 

Be proactive, stop illegal dumping in your community!

Successful Illegal Dumping Program

Successful Illegal Dumping Program

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First, ask what objectives are in mind and what challenges are already in place.

Most cities today face the backlash of not keeping the community safe from the hazards of illegal dumping. Therefore, the objective is to keep the environment safe from hazardous waste and debris that harbor disease and disease carrying rats and mosquitoes. Having no illegal dumping activity would be ideal.

This is a challenge in so many ways.  The citizens pollute their own community either by lack of knowledge, lack of care, or find it more profitable to do it anyway. The deposal of waste can be expensive for most people, especially large items such as appliances and construction debris.  There is also the rise in homelessness and reduction of income in many communities.  These challenges make it harder to legislate tougher fines and enforce laws already in place.

However, the community still needs to have clean water and not live with the risk of hazards illegal dumping causes, such as disease carrying rats, mosquitoes, and toxins that infect the area, water supplies, and spread to the whole community.

These concerns make it important to have an illegal dumping program that is effective and deters the problem.

Although fines are hard to impose, the alternative is making the whole community pay the costs of clean up, which could mean higher taxes or taking money from another resource that was meant to improve the lives of the citizens.  Fines are an important function of a successful illegal dumping program, but only if the laws are enforced.

A successful Illegal Dumping Program must include many departments working together.

Education

Social media, community engagements, and school activities are a great way to educate the community.

Legislation

Although tough fines can be controversial, they are needed, especially for commercial companies.

 Staff Resources

A dedicated staff to implement and direct the program is essential.

Tools

Having the suitable tools to stop illegal dumping is essential.  Prosecuting illegal dumping requires evidence to stand up in court.  Make sure the  illegal dumping enforcement cameras are designed specially to capture prosecutable images in complete darkness in remote areas.

Enforcement

To have a successful Illegal Dumping Program, enforcement needs to be a priority.

Is your city ready to implement a successful Illegal Dumping Program?

 

#noillegaldumping #stopillegaldumping #publicworks