At its March 4 meeting, the Pittsburg City Council is set to discuss introducing an Illegal Dumping Ordinance and increasing the fine.
If approved, the proposed ordinance would add Chapter 8.14, “Illegal dumping,” to the Pittsburg Municipal Code (PMC) to establish the prohibition and enforcement action related to illegal dumping.
The city estimates it spends more than $100k annually to remove trash and debris illegally placed along roadways or other public areas. Staff believes the prospect of increased fines to $1,000 (the maximum allowed by law) and the ability of the City to find liable the owner or operator of a vehicle used in dumping will deter illegal dumping and reduce City costs and/or compensate the City for cleanup activities.
According to the staff report:
- 2021 – 1,224 tons of garbage and debris, including 1,032 tons from homeless encampments, and eight large appliances, including refrigerators, washers and dryers, were dumped in the Cit and removed by Public Works.
- 2022 – 288 cubic yards of garbage and 231 large appliance items were illegally dumped in and removed by the City.
City staff credits their camera technology and expansion of the cameras make identifying the person or vehicle used in illegally dumping trash or debris increasingly likely. The proposed ordinance would place liability on an owner or operator of a motor vehicle that violates the ordinance if the vehicle is used, or the owner or operator reasonably should have known the vehicle was being used in the commission of illegal dumping.
The amount of the administrative fine is $1,000 for each violation, which includes each individual act of disposing garbage at the same location and/or each day disposed garbage remains where it was disposed. The City Manager is authorized to offer community service, if available, in lieu of a fine, and the City may collect any past due administrative fine as a personal obligation
According to its website, Pittsburg offers a $250.00 reward to individuals that provide information that leads to the conviction of the person(s) that have committed acts.
Pittsburg City Council Meeting
March 4, 2024
65 Civic Avenue, Pittsburg CA
7:00 PM
Agenda – click here
Related Stories:
- June 26, 2023 – County Seeks Bay Point Road Closure to Combat Illegal Dumping
- Sept. 27, 2022 – Pittsburg Police Say Illegal Dumping Causes Tri Delta Transit Bus Crash
- Aug 18, 2022 – Bill Targeting Illegal Dumping sent to Governor Newsom
AB 2374 raises fines for illegal dumping of commercial quantities of refuse by a person employing more than 10 full-time employees. Fines are increased to up to $5,000 upon first conviction, up to $10,000 on a second conviction, and up to $20,000 on third or subsequent conviction.
3 comments
Just put a free sign on stuff and watch the Wilbur street gang grab the treasures. Remember some people’s garbage is another homeless treasure. City of Lamar will pay for cleanup in due time. But we still need to put food waste in green waste or be penalized. B.S.
Should look into very high fees charged at transfer stations and dumps.
Years ago city of Oakland experimented with large roll off bins.
Program made significant impact on illegal dumping.
Have roll off bins filled by those who would dump illegally
or pay city employees to collect and dispose of it.
Which alternative would in long run be cheaper?
Why would this change anything? When was the last time somebody was cited for dumping things illegally? LOL
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