Columbus ups number of illegal dumping cases
Some want more done over ‘ongoing frustration’
Columbus has more than quadrupled the number of criminal cases it has filed for illegal dumping. But in some neighborhoods, residents feel that they are fighting the same battles with trash.
“There’s a message that needs to be told. Citizens are put in this position to be the city’s property manager. Impossible,” said Heidi Hughes of Franklinton.
Trent Smith, executive director of the Franklinton Board of Trade, said he believes the city is doing everything it can with the resources available, including installing cameras to catch violators.
“I guess it’s an ongoing frustration. They can’t have a camera everywhere,” Smith said.
The city attorney’s office had filed 54 criminal cases for illegal dumping in 2020 as of last Tuesday, compared with 13 cases in all of 2019.
Criminal dumping cases are thirddegree misdemeanors that carry fines of $500 and up to 60 days in jail.
So far, there have been 18 convictions, said Tim Swauger, the city’s refuse administrator.
The goal next year is to file 150 criminal cases, Swauger said.
City Attorney Zach Klein said it’s about building cases to hold people accountable so they do not become repeat offenders. “Our goal is deterrence,” Klein said. “Repeat offenders, we have no problem seeking jail time.”
Klein said he has a dedicated attorney, Assistant City Prosecutor Christopher Clark, to work on dumping cases.
Swauger said the city has boosted the number of solid waste inspectors from just one in 2018 to three in 2019 and five this year.
Columbus City Council also passed legislation this year that allows the city to file civil complaints against illegal dumpers, with penalties of up to $1,000. The law went into effect Aug. 30, and the city has filed 63 civil charges, he said.
The additional threat of civil action is bringing people into compliance, Swauger said, but dumping problem spots continue in Linden, Franklinton, the Hilltop and the South Side. Much of the issue involves construction materi
als: wood, drywall and other materials torn out of houses being rehabbed, he said. Swauger said the city is building a case against one person who has been seen dumping construction materials 12 times in Linden.
But for residents such as Hughes, who has lived in Franklinton for four years, the situation remains frustrating. She has long been vexed by trash dumped behind a house on nearby Campbell Avenue.
“I spoke to Zach Klein. I found him to be sympathetic,” Hughes said. “He had no other options because of how egregious the whole damn situation has become.
“To live near a deplorable property is demoralizing,” she added.
Bob Hughes, who is not related to Heidi Hughes, has long been on the city’s back about illegal dumping in Franklinton. He also believes that the city attorney’s office should do more to expedite cases through court, especially since so much dumping continues.
“They can write 46 tickets a day without really trying,” he said.
Curtis Davis, a Columbus South Side area commissioner, said the city’s removal of 300-gallon trash containers from alleys is helping with illegal dumping, providing fewer obvious opportunities.
Lisa Boggs, a Hilltop neighborhood leader who has fought illegal dumping for years, said the city’s efforts seem to be working – somewhat.
“Seeing a slight difference. Ever so slightly,” she said.
Having more city crews clean up alleys helps, Boggs said. But she still would like to see twice a week, or roving trash pickups in hard-hit areas such as the Hilltop, Linden and Southeast Side. mferench@dispatch.com @Markferenchik