Philadelphia prepares to launch illegal dumping task force
Illegal dumping is a significant problem in Philadelphia, costing taxpayers approximately $2 million every year. The sanitation workers' strike last month only exacerbated the issue. Now, the city is ramping up enforcement efforts and going after offenders more aggressively.
Piles of trash and debris are common in some Philadelphia neighborhoods. Theresa Farrell lives in Port Richmond and said some neighbors have given up hope that the city will stop the illegal dumping.
"I can call today, and then next thing you know, it's back again the same way," Farrell said.
Farrell said she works with nonprofits to clean up the streets, but it's impossible to keep up with the trash piles.
"It's been an ongoing thing," she said. "We try to get it cleaned up. The trash brings not only rats but rodents."
For years now, the city of Philadelphia has tried to curb illegal dumping, but it turns out surveillance cameras and $300 fines weren't cutting it.
"Even if they got caught, the fines were so minimal that it didn't deter the activity," Carlton Williams, the director of Philadelphia's Office of Clean and Green Initiatives, told CBS News Philadelphia.
There are currently 450 cameras installed around the city to catch violators dumping off trash illegally, and city workers are monitoring them 24-7. If someone is seen taking trash out of a car and dumping it, the Philadelphia Parking Authority can confiscate the vehicle. The fines have risen in the last few years from $300 total to $5,000 per illegally dumped item.
Williams gave CBS News Philadelphia exclusive access to footage he said shows people illegally dumping trash, including two people in a pick-up truck, one in a mask, illegally off-loading trash on the side of a street in Port Richmond.
"They get in and get out very quickly," said Williams, who counted about 40 bags being taken off the truck, amounting to about $200,000 in fines.
"We want to make sure that they are held accountable for that type of cost to the taxpayer and the destruction that they're doing to our environment," Williams said.
Last week, CBS News Philadelphia was there when the city held its first training for about 40 new enforcement officers who will investigate cases right away rather than pass along evidence to police.
The city has been rolling out some of the new strategies over the last few weeks. Fines have already increased, and the PPA is ready to start confiscating vehicles. Enforcement officers should be fully trained sometime in September.
According to the city's website: If you see illegal dumping in the act, call 911. Do not confront anyone you see dumping trash. You can report illegal dumping after the fact by calling 311 and provide as much information about the dumping as possible, including location, description of the individual(s), make, model, color, and license plate of any vehicles, and the material being dumped.