Over 760 illegal dumpsites, containing an estimated 1,800 tons of illegally dumped household trash, appliances, tires, household hazardous waste, construction and demolition waste, furniture, vehicle parts, and electronics have been identified in Allegheny, Cumberland, Erie, Fayette, Mercer, and Washington counties.

PA CleanWays, a statewide nonprofit whose mission is to help communities eliminate litter and illegal dumping, recently released the county-by-county results of six illegal dump surveys.

Funding for the Allegheny and Fayette surveys was provided through a grant from the Department of Environmental Protection. The Cumberland, Erie, Mercer and Washington surveys were completed with support from the Western Pennsylvania Watershed Program.

“We have always known that illegal dumping is a tremendous problem across the Commonwealth but through these surveys, we are gathering the empirical data to substantiate it,” said PA CleanWays Program Manager, Karen Fritz, who supervised the project.

Detailed GIS maps pinpoint dumpsites by municipality, population density, and environmental features. Charts detail site and waste characteristics by municipality, including the site name, calculated tonnage, what types of waste are visible, the distance from water, terrain, and its visibility from the road.

“The first step in developing a community action plan against illegal dumping is to determine the extent of the problem,” said Karen McCalpin, PA CleanWays Vice-President of External Affairs. “Once the sites are identified, assessed, and mapped, the date gathered can be used to demonstrate that a problem does indeed exist. Sites can then be prioritized for cleanup and abatement.”

McCalpin also says the surveys are a valuable tool that can be used by communities for planning purposes in regard to solid waste and recycling programs and to gain support for funding.

PA CleanWays knows the serious impact of illegal dumping firsthand.

Since its inception in 1990, over 28,000 PA CleanWays volunteers have removed over 7,100 tons of trash from Commonwealth roads, trails, parks, forests, greenways, waterways, and beaches.

Illegal dumps attract disease-spreading rodents and insects, pose a fire hazard, contaminate surface and groundwater, may prevent water from draining which may lead to flooding, reduce property value, and are a deterrent to productive and recreational land use. If not addressed, illegal dumps attract more and more waste and may send a message that community members just don’t care.

The six surveys are available for downloading on the PA CleanWays website.

The website also contains information on how you can be involved in helping to clean up your community, report an illegal dumpsite, join a PA CleanWays Chapter, or adopt a site. A variety of free educational materials are available as well.

NewsClips: Allegheny County Has Most Illegal Dump Sites

11/18/2005