Northwood News ♦ February 2011

The Rules on Illegal Dumping

By Jacquie Bokow

What is illegal dumping? By definition, illegal dumping is depositing solid waste at a location other than a legally accepted facility. You may not:

Dispose of your trash in dumpsters or containers that you don’t own;
Dispose of your trash along public roadways or in vacant lots, fields, wooded areas, stream valleys, parklands, or any other unacceptable location;
Dump chemicals, pesticides, used automotive fluids, and other pollutants into storm drains, into waterways, or on the ground;
Improperly dispose of yard waste (leaves, grass clippings, brush, and natural wood waste) by throwing it over your fence or dumping it in a nearby wooded area;
Burn solid waste;
Bury solid waste; or
Drop solid waste off at any location other than a legally accepted facility.

Montgomery County considers illegal dumping a serious problem. Each year, the Department of Environmental Protection investigates more than 450 incidents of illegal dumping and spends over $100,000 for cleanup and enforcement.

Farmers suffer because fields and crops are destroyed, fences are cut, livestock is disturbed, and trash must be removed. Businesses suffer because extra trash pickups can cost several hundred dollars each. (And those additional expenses are eventually passed on to consumers.)

Entire neighborhoods suffer because trash not only is unsightly but also harbors rats and other vermin. It can lead to a decline in property values and a loss of community self-respect. And once dumping begins, it attracts additional trash.

The environment suffers because toxic pollutants are released into streams, woodlands, and wetlands. Illegal dumping and discharges also can harm wildlife.

Illegal dumping can be lethal. Public health and safety can be seriously compromised because needles, glass, and other sharp or toxic objects can cause infection or physical injury. Children playing along polluted streams and waterways can be at risk.

Call 311 to report illegal dumping. ■