The advent of spring means tulips and daffodils to some, but to Public Works Director Eric Watson, it means a spike in illegal dumping.
Watson said Monday a task force involving the Police, Fire and Inspections divisions is addressing the problem and monitoring "hot spots" for dumping. He said tires are a special problem, with as many as 300 found in one day around the city. It costs $6 per tire for proper disposal, he said.
Watson said the city has a number of "fix flat" shops that may be part of the problem.
Although property owners can schedule bulk waste pickups for old furniture and other household cast-offs, Watson said loads of such waste are turning up. City officials are contemplating an increase in fines and possible impounding of vehicles used by illegal dumpers. The victims of illegal dumping -whether churches or private property owners - are faced with the burden and cost of removing junk.
Councilwoman Tracey Brown recalled a time when the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority offered rewards for catching dumpers, but Watson said people who try to intercede have been attacked with bats and knives.
The City Council discussed a joint meeting with the PMUA in the near future. As Watson often recalled when he became director of the PMUA, one of the reasons for its inception was to address dumping. In its early days, the authority held bulk waste pickups citywide and residents may recall curbs lined with trash as residents emptied their garages and basements where it had been stored.
With the increase in dumping, Watson said, "We have to get serious."
See this PMUA advisory on what to do if you see illegal dumping.
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Every day I see small business workers and residents filling the public trash receptacles on North and Watchung Avenues. PMUA keeps removing the cans so that the average citizen has nowhere to toss a candy wrapper, yet no one fines the people abusing the receptacles. At my apartment building, vehicles often come overnight dumping mattresses, furniture and construction debris which my landlord then has to haul away legally. All of this can increase costs to the people who actually pay for the services.
ReplyDeleteWell, MILLIONS of $'s later and "We have to get Serious" ---- How do these people sleep at night?
ReplyDeleteThere is no need to subject yourself to an attack by the perpetrators. First you write down, or memorize, the license plate number and vehicle type.
ReplyDeleteThen you call 911 ASAP. Has the City increased the penalties for illegal dumping? Previously the fines weren't much more, and sometimes les, than the cost of dumping the material legally. As a collateral consideration, how about the proliferation of vulgar, "We buy used cars", and "We buy houses", signs that degrade our community? These are illegal. The degenerates that post them provide a phone number which means that the organization is traceable. How about cracking down? In addition, our prohibitive PMUA Shared Service fee ought t be sufficient to send a PMUA truck to canvas the town, say once a month, to remove them, and paint over, or remove the posters, plastered on various utility boxes. If the signs disappear shortly after they are placed it is likely the companies will get the message and stop placing them. Bill Kruse
Here here!!
DeleteBy the end of 2016 PMUA will have taken in nearly $160 million in solid waste related fees since 1998, exclusive of fees generated at the Transfer Station, and the millions the City has spent on Inspections, enforcement, Public Safety, and Public Works. Now, years later, the problem of illegal dumping is still with us. A variety of reasons exist for the perception and reality that Plainfield is a low-rent city, but until things change for the better illegal dumping isn't going away any time soon.
ReplyDeleteSomeone dumped a pallet and TV on the abandoned property across the street from me on Hobert Ave. Been there 2 months now
ReplyDeleteWe might also want to come down on businesses downtown who boldly walk out in the middle of the day and put large bags of garbage into city receptacles not mean for private dumping. I've seen it many times. Let's fine these people too. I don't want my taxes paying for their trash pick up.
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