Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Friday said they have donated high-tech surveillance cameras to the City of Pittsburgh to support enhanced enforcement efforts surrounding the act of illegal dumping within the City limits.

The high quality, motion activated, covert security cameras provide instant wireless transmission of site activity, photo documentation of license plates at speeds of up to 50 mph, and clear photos of activity day or night, which are key to prosecutions.

“From Pittsburgh’s wonderful greenways to its secluded hillsides, illegal dumping is far too common in our City,” said Mayor William Peduto. “Plenty of resources are available to help our residents and businesses dispose of waste properly, but irresponsible behavior continues. I want to thank Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful for assisting efforts by my administration and local partners to enforce the law and keep our neighborhoods clean.”

“The evidence collected by our cameras has been integral in the prosecution and conviction of individuals from Allegheny, Armstrong, and Elk counties.  Putting faces to what once was a faceless crime is gratifying and knowing that violators will be held accountable is even better,” says Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. “We are honored to be part of the effort to reduce illegal dumping in the City of Pittsburgh.”

Allegheny CleanWays, with the help of the Illegal Dump Survey completed in 2009 by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, will help determine site locations for camera installation. Cameras will be repositioned among known illegal dumpsites as needed.

The new cameras will augment a program that was piloted by Allegheny CleanWays and the City of Pittsburgh last year.

Two cameras, purchased through a grant from the Allegheny County Conservation District, were donated to the City of Pittsburgh for surveillance of the city’s worst dumping areas in late 2013. The addition of the new cameras will enable surveillance of more sites and increase the likelihood of a conviction.

For more information, visit the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful website.

NewsClips: Pittsburgh Bolsters Efforts To Track Illegal Dumping

4/21/2014