Collier Township officials, through a recent equipment grant award from Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, installed surveillance equipment at active illegal dumping sites, many of them along remote stretches of rural roads in Allegheny County.

The cameras helped officials charge and convict Danielle Cosentino, who on July 30th and August 8 was issued a citation for dumping illegally. Police said Cosentino was caught dumping a television, microwave oven, and pool filter by a motion sensitive surveillance camera, provided by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

On September 18, the Honorable Maureen McGraw-Desmet, Magisterial District 05-2-21,  found Cosentino guilty and fined her $780 for the crime.

The cameras are part of a pilot surveillance program where Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is working to support and bolster enforcement efforts to deter illegal dumping.

“The challenges are many when it comes to enforcement of laws against illegal dumping- and much of it comes down to limited resources.” explains Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. “Our goal was to find a cost-effective way for local authorities to capture photographic evidence efficiently.”

The surveillance package provided to participating communities utilizes a combination of low cost game cameras with wireless technology.

“The technology is amazing and it works and it proves that this type of evidence will hold up in court,” Collier Township manager Sal Sirabella said. 

Officer Tom Devin, Collier Township Police explained, “This is the first time in 30 years that I have had a successful prosecution against illegal dumpers thanks to the clear evidence we were able to capture from the surveillance cameras provided by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.”

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful plans to wrap up the Illegal Dump Surveillance Support Pilot Program this fall and has begun exploring ways to build on its success to bolster enforcement of illegal dumping laws across the state. 

Through its Statewide Illegal Dump Survey, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful identified more than 6,500 illegal dumpsites with more than 18,000 tons of trash. Many of those sites were deemed active dumpsites.

Enforcement Workshop

To learn more about enforcement in Pennsylvania, we urge you to attend the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful and the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania two day enforcement session on October 16 and 17 at the Double Tree Hotel in Monroeville.

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful will discuss the newly implemented Illegal Dump Surveillance Support Pilot Program.

Guest speakers and panelists will include representatives from the Fish and Boat Commission, Game Commission, State Police, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, zoning and code enforcement officers, a Magisterial District Judge, and the Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Investigation and Solid Waste Departments. 

This session should be attended by municipal, recycling and waste personnel, enforcement officers or anyone who handles enforcement issues in their job.

The class will qualify for 1.2 CEU’s for Recycling 461: Understanding Jurisdictions and Enforcement, and Recycling 462: Investigations and Prosecution Procedures towards the PROP Recyclers certification program.  

This educational program is made possible through funding from Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Department of Environmental Protection.

For more information and a copy of the registration form, visit the Enforcement Workshop webpage. 

9/30/2013