Illegal depositing of trash and other waste materials in dumpsters proves costly for business owners

The problem is illegal dumping of trash and other possibly toxic materials. It's costing businesses money, while the people doing the dumping get rid of their trash for free. It may not seem fair,

Tuesday, January 23rd 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The problem is illegal dumping of trash and other possibly toxic materials. It's costing businesses money, while the people doing the dumping get rid of their trash for free. It may not seem fair, but whatever ends up in a dumpster becomes the responsibility of the business where the dumpster is located. Sometimes, these businesses find extra household trash or tree limbs, but often times it's appliances, carpeting, and that's not all.

Llocks on dumpsters aren't to keep the trash in. They're to keep the trash out. After every weekend, business owners go back to their establishments wondering what they will find in their dumpsters, and who might have put it there. â€œThey cut the lock, and opened the lids, and filled it up,â€ said Midwest Truckâ€™s Mike Henson. Henson has seen it before at his business, and at those stores around him. â€œRolls of home carpeting, torn out of a house, and piled it up six feet over the dumpster.â€

Calling the waste company to cart off an extra couple of loads costs $150.
Across town, a huge dumpster is filled once a month, but not by illegal dumpers. The company picks up the trash deposited outside their door.
They've found it all from couches to car parts, to tires and appliances.
â€œWe've cleared this trash up, since 1989,â€ said Shell and Tube Manufacturingâ€™s George Million. â€œWe get this dumpster here pretty full once a month.â€

"We've had a rash of calls particularly on Monday morning, where people have dumpsters, and find them filled up,â€ said American Waste Control spokesman Guy Blagg. â€œThe problem is it's not their trash, it's trash that literally has been dumped on them.â€

American Waste Control services dumpsters large and small. The company is finding that locks are proving to be a popular new accessory. "We've had hazardous wastes, ignitable wastes, which is a huge problem for us,â€ Blagg said. â€œA fire could be started in a truck due to these materials."

There are laws against illegal dumping of trash and other waste materials, but the criminals are hard to catch, because much of their work is done at night in industrial areas. And the trash that has been dumped is hard to trace.