Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, Monday appeared before the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee to present recommendations on how to reduce illegal dumping in Pennsylvania.
In an effort to build a strong case for further action by state, county, and local government, and other stakeholders to reduce illegal dumping in Pennsylvania, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful performed a series of research initiatives that concluded in 2013-2014.
The resulting report, “Illegal Dumping in Pennsylvania: A Decade of Discovery,” is the final stage of the ongoing efforts of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful to identify where and how illegal dumping occurs in Pennsylvania and provides practical, cost-effective solutions and accountability measures to address a statewide issue.
The report, prepared in cooperation with Nestor Resources, Inc., and funded in part by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Richard King Mellon Foundation, proposes to develop a framework to minimize, if not halt, illegal dumping in Pennsylvania.
The findings in the report point to a number of steps that could help Pennsylvania attain this objective including:
— Universal access to waste and recycling services including the establishment of permanent, gated convenient centers within close proximity to the population;
— Establishing measures such as building and demolition permitting and a registration network for small contractors and transporters to deter commercial dumping;
— Heightening awareness and understanding of waste management issues through a statewide multi-media campaign and an Environmental Law Training Program for Enforcement Officers and Justices;
— Expanding the use of electronic surveillance at active illegal dumpsites;
— Creating county level Joint Code Enforcement Officer Programs to support local governments; and
— Establishing fines that significantly outweigh the avoided cost of disposal and publishing the identities of those who continue to illegally dump.
“Pennsylvanians can no longer afford to continually clean up illegal dumps. Cleanups are costly, the remediation of illegal dumps costs $619 per ton for an average total of $2,947 per site, and do not stop the act of illegal dumping,” states Shannon Reiter, President of Keep PA Beautiful. “By developing an infrastructure to provide affordable, convenient waste disposal and recycling options for all residents of the Commonwealth and a network of law enforcement officers and judicial officials who are knowledgeable about current laws and the cost to our community, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, along with its partners, supporters, and stakeholders, hope to change the way waste is managed in Pennsylvania, thereby economically benefiting citizens, business owners, and local government.”
A copy of the Discovery report is available online. Click Here for a copy of the Statewide Illegal Dumping Cost Research report. Click Here for a copy of the illegal dumping survey for your county.
For more information on how you and your community can cleanup and prevent illegal dumping, visit Keep PA Beautiful’s website.
Sen. Scott Hutchinson (R-Venango) serves as Chair of the Joint Conservation Committee.