CLEVELAND — It can affect the health and safety of people living nearby while also dragging down the quality of life. When it comes to cracking down on illegal dumping in Cleveland, enforcement can frequently be like hitting a moving target.
Cleveland Police Sergeant Matthew West, the Environmental Crimes Task Force supervisor, provided the Cleveland City Council’s Health and Human Services Committee with an update on Monday morning. The task force, typically comprised of a sergeant, two detectives and a sheriff’s deputy, has currently been operating with a sergeant and one detective, West told the city council. However, the unit has already secured two felony indictments this year in addition to several misdemeanor citations.
The unit currently has 125 open cases, West said, many of which follow a typical pattern.
“People will hire somebody to clean out their house if they evict somebody,” West said. “Someone comes and cleans everything, puts it in [a truck] and dumps it. He makes all the money but doesn’t have to pay the dump fees at the transfer station.”
Another common culprit? People who offer to discard worn tires from a neighborhood tire shop properly but, instead, illegally dump them. Often, suspects will specifically seek out closed or abandoned commercial properties or vacant lots with little to no foot traffic.
That appears to have been the case at a former dollar store in the Slavic Village neighborhood.
“I saw a two-level tear-off from the roof. Somebody dumped it out of their truck and into the parking lot. I saw about 22 tires,” said George Williams, who works near the closed store in the 8000 block of Broadway Avenue. “It’s like someone sees that [illegal dumping is] in session. The next thing you know, trucks come by late at night and come by and dump everything that they can.”
In addition to the large piles of construction debris, neighbors said someone appears to have dropped an entire truck bed full of other refuse, including cardboard, drywall, several pieces of furniture and carpeting. The heaping pile of garbage had been removed by Monday morning.
“It looks real bad. It makes the area look bad. It’s a bad look on the city,” Williams said. “[The city] takes money out of my check every week to pay for it and keep the city clean. Then you get people coming in and dumping their stuff everywhere. I’m sure they are being paid to dispose of it, and they’re not.”
West told council members that a two-person crew from the city is dispatched to the dump site for cleanup. Depending on the size of the dump site, cleanup can cost around $1,000. Although the Environmental Crimes Task Force has a fleet of hidden trail cameras and other surveillance cameras at its disposal, enforcement can be like a game of whack-a-mole.
West encourages residents to document essential details like car make and model, license plate numbers and suspect descriptions if they see illegal dumping in progress. To submit a tip related to illegal dumping in Cleveland, call 216-621-1234.
