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Proactive Against Illegal Dumping

Proactive Against Illegal Dumping

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!

Illegal Dumping Strategies

Illegal Dumping Strategies

Every city needs an Illegal Dumping Enforcement Program with a well thought out strategy.

Illegal Dumping is a worldwide epidemic, which is surprising considering the amount of awareness there appears to be.  There has been a lot of news and education regarding protecting the environment.  Are people aware that illegal dumping harms the environment and the communities?  It is hard to assess.  What is the most prevalent source of illegal dumping? Again, hard to assess.

According to Washington County, Ohio, the most items found are furniture, tires, roofing shingles, and disposable diapers. Some donation centers no longer accept furniture, due to the possible infestation of bugs that harbor within.  This along with large items being restricted in the weekly trash pickup makes it difficult for some people to dispose of the large items appropriately.  The tire and roof shingle dumping is usually committed by commercial companies that know they are committing a crime but are illegally dumping anyway.

These factors need to be considered when implementing the Illegal Dumping Enforcement Program.

  • 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?

These factors can be a deal breaker and should carefully be considered when forming the strategy to stop illegal dumping.

 

Illegal Dumping Contaminates Soil

Illegal Dumping Contaminates Soil

Illegal waste contains hazardous substances and chemicals that contaminate and pollute the soil and eventually infect the ground water.

Soil is a mixture of minerals and life forms that benefit all life on the earth.  When children play outside and soil is everywhere, it is logical that some of the soil will be ingested and inhaled.  Because most food is grown using soil, polluted soil affects the food supply.  Contaminates can be absorbed through skin when the wind picks up the soil and carries it.

When the contaminates filter through the soil it can work its way into the ground water polluting the very water used for drinking.

Also, Illegal disposal of waste pollutes the surrounding area and will poison natural habitats causing death to life in a wide area.

It is essential that illegal dumping be stopped, and the environment be protected for the sake of health and the communities’ wellbeing.

How can the problem of illegal dumping and soil contamination stop?

Each community must create an Illegal Dumping Enforcement Program.

  • Educate:

The people within the community should know more about what an illegal dumping health crisis is, how the contaminated soil will hurt them, and where the soil is being affected.

  • Enforce:

Enforce with  Illegal Dumping Cameras . These cameras catch the dumpers in the act and record license plates even in complete darkness.

Stop illegal dumping and protect the soil!

New York City

How to Eliminate Illegal Dumping

Who thinks of illegal dumping when they think of a big city?

When anyone mentions “the big city,” a whole host of images and thoughts and feelings flood into your mind. “The big city” has been glamorized as the place where opportunity is waiting for people who wish to make a name for themselves. It is “the big city” that sets the latest fashion trends. It is in “the big city” that you get to experience the greatest food, music, and art. Life is at its most glamorous in “the big city,” or at least that is how it is supposed to be. Nowadays, anyone who is well acquainted with city life have a whole host of negative and disparaging mental connections, like trashy and dirty, with the phrase, “the big city.”

For instance, residents of  many cities are plagued by an ever-increasing illegal dumping crisis, that keeps getting worse.  Unfortunately, these same cities lack the manpower and resources to adequately investigate and punish the hundreds of businesses which are suspect of engaging in illegal dumping activity. Many cities globally are facing illegal dumping activity that is endangering the health and safety of select neighborhoods and those currently living on the streets. Although the situation may seem hopeless, there is one step which cities should do without delay:

Create an Illegal Dumping Enforcement Program.

A Successful Illegal Dumping Enforcement 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: To ask the community to help identify perpetrators.
  • Legislation: Strict laws to combat illegal dumping.
  • Enforcement: Enforce, respond, investigate, and prosecute.
  • Staff Resources: Staff that is trained and dedicated to combat the illegal dumping problem.
  • Illegal Dumping Cameras– cameras specifically designed to provide prosecutable evidence in dark remote areas, where illegal dumping usually occurs.

Eliminate illegal dumping and create an Illegal Dumping Enforcement Program!

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