Surveillance plays role in cleanup initiative
Officials lay out plan to end illegal dumping
Penn Hills officials on Wednesday detailed a new initiative to end illegal dumping in the community.
Proposed solutions to the problem include continuing investigations into suspected perpetrators, keeping known dump sites clean, increased fines and increased signage making clear the punishment for dumping.
“I think there’s a lot of angry people. I know I’m angry about it,” said Penn Hills municipal Manager Scott Andrejchak.
Mr. Andrejchak presented several clips filmed in May on a surveillance camera located on Beechford Road showing people unloading an entire U- Haul truck full of trash, including a bike, scrap metal, furniture and several garbage bags. Another video from the same camera, also from May, showed two people unloading a car full of trash, including a toilet.
One individual shown in the videos was later identified as Ricky Stallworth Jr. of Wilkinsburg, who was cited with the newly increased fine of $ 2,000 plus cleanup costs. The other violators seen in the videos are still
unidentified.
Part of the reason for attacking illegal dumping head- on is the cleanup cost, Mr. Andrejchak said. Cleanup can cost $ 500 per dumpster filled; the trash accumulated at Beechford Road could fill four or five dumpsters, Mr. Andrejchak said. He estimated the cost of illegal dumping in Penn Hills was $ 325,000 to $ 500,000 annually.
On top of the cost, Mr. Andrejchak listed other problems like lowering property value, pollution of water and land and fire hazards. Failing to clean dump sites also could encourage more dumping in the area.
“It lowers the human spirit,” Mr. Andrejchak said, and has grown beyond what volunteers are able to clean.
The first site where Penn Hills tested the clean- up strategy was the Ross Street Park, located near the corner of Kemler Street and Ross Road, because of its proximity to the playground. That site is now cleaned up, Mr. Andrejchak said, leaving nine identified sites in need of cleanup. Beechford Road is the next on the list.
“This isn’t business as usual anymore,” Mr. Andrejchak said. “We’re taking a completely different attitude and approach to this.”
The Environmental Protection Agency says it’s difficult to profile the “typical” illegal dumper, but it lists construction and landscaping contractors, auto repair and tire shops, scrap collectors and local “do- ityourselfers” as frequent offenders.
Hazards from dumping can include disease- carrying mosquitoes attracted to tire piles, flooding due to blocked drainage and contaminated drinking water caused by toxic runoff, according to the EPA. In order to form a successful illegal dumping program, the EPA says programs must be founded on leadership and support by local officials, and by encouraging cooperation between authorities, residents and industries.
Mr. Andrejchak guaranteed that the dumping would stop, but urged the public to be patient in the process.