CINCINNATI — City leaders are looking for solutions to illegal dumping and littering, a problem they say is costing Cincinnati between $3-4 million a year to clean up.
Last January, Cincinnati City Council's Healthy Neighborhoods Committee discussed a report on littering and illegal dumping that was two years in the making. Council member Mark Jeffreys requested it on March 8, 2022.
The amount of time it took to produce the 12-page report speaks to its level of complexity, Jeffreys said. The data was “scattered all over” across multiple departments, he said.
The report shows that criminal prosecutions of public littering have decreased since the pandemic with only three civil citations in the last five years.
“That’s hugely enlightening,” Jeffreys said.
Jeffreys said the problem with littering isn’t just that it's an eyesore.
“We’re spending a significant amount of money on this issue, about $3 million a year, which is really substantial,” he said.
That figure includes over $80,000 for tire cleanup around the city last year. Assistant City Manager Billy Weber told the committee the city cleaned up over 18,000 abandoned tires last year.
On Tuesday, the council's Climate, Environment & Infrastructure committee advanced a measure to study the problem, and potentially hire "outside consultants to identify best practices, compare peer cities, and develop a plan for comprehensive and proactive litter prevention and removal plan." It also includes producing a report within 90 days which identifies and outlines short-term improvements.
City data shows in the last three years, East Price Hill, Westwood and West Price Hill round out the top three neighborhoods for littering. When it comes to illegal dumping during that same time, East Price Hill, CUF and Westwood rank in the top three.
WCPO found a common illegal dumping area in Westwood on Fyffe and McHenry, a dead-end leading into the woods. There are now cameras installed in the area to catch people in the act.
"We can't turn this into a Rumpke's landfill, it's scary," said Rodney Christian, East Westwood Community Council.
Christian has seen the trash in the area — from old mattresses, tires, broken-down appliances and various bags of garbage.
"Have to see that every day when I get off of work," said Andres Gonzalez, who lives in East Price Hill and sees people driving by his house and throwing things out the window.
"I'll put it in the back of my truck, and I'll dump it in front of your house and you tell me how you feel when I dump it in your front yard," said Amanda Gonzalez, who explained what she wants to do when she sees people dumping trash in front of her house.
They're frustrated and feel powerless about what's happening where they live.
"My dad comes through right here and he picks up all the trash throughout the roads," Andres Gonzalez said.
"We can't just sit there and let this happen, it can get worse," Christian said.
Christian runs an after-school program with Third Presbyterian Church. They've decided to become part of the solution.
"We take them out and pick up trash with their sticks and they their Peace and Hope Lifestyle vests on and they go out and pick up paper," Christian said.
Another solution is trying to catch people in the act, with the city installing cameras in common dumping areas.
"Once we know the location, and we put up cameras, we generally have a 75-80% catch rate on the people who is dumping there," said James Johnson with Keep Cincinnati Beautiful.
Johnson showed video of how it looked before cameras went up. There are improvements today, but it still needs work after months of progress. Christian and his team hope his kids in the youth program become an example for the rest of the community.
"Take pride in it this is your home not when you walk into your front door but when you cross the border into your neighborhood this is your living room this is your home," Christian said.
A WCPO analysis of 311 complaints regarding littering and illegal dumping shows that Westwood, West Price Hill and East Price Hill account for more than 27% of all the city's litter/dumping service requests since 2020.
“We really need some new tools in the toolbox,” Jeffreys said. “We, of course, are fining people today, which needs to remain an option. But we also want to make sure that we give the option of warnings as well.”
The report recommends adjusting the most frequently utilized municipal code violations (Owner to Maintain Premises Free of Litter and Abandoned Property on Streets or Sidewalks) to allow for a warning.
This would allow for “lower stakes engagement with violators” and preserve “enforcement resources for more egregious offenses,” the recommendation states. Weber told council members that a warning would require more resources, as it would require city staff to revisit properties.
Another recommendation was to “engage the public in identifying violations and violators,” even “exploring ways to provide rewards to individuals that submit information that led to collection of civil fines or criminal convictions.”
Jeffreys said that’s a challenge, and he would want to understand and benchmark what has been successful in other cities.
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