Ordinance introduced by the Pittsburg Legislators seeks to curb illegal dumping by increasing fines and holding owners and operators of vehicles used to dump accountable.
PITTSBURG, CA – The City of Pittsburg is taking action to combat illegal dumping within the East Bay city.
Under the adopted ordinance, fines for illegal dumping will be increased to $1,000 per incident – the maximum allowed by the state – and the City will maintain the authority to hold the owner and/or operator of a vehicle used in the commitment of illegal dumping accountable for citations and the cost of cleanup.
The City will utilize its vast network of automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras that may capture the license plate of a vehicle used to illegal dump debris and lead officials to the registered owner. In cases of ongoing dumping, the cost of abatement of a property could be charged to the property owner.
“[Illegal dumping] has increasingly become an issue throughout the region, and the [City of Pittsburg] spends $100,000 annually on the cleanup of illegally dumped debris,” said Jordan Davis, Director of Community and Economic Development. “Items dumped are often large, heavy, maybe hazardous or contain hazardous materials requiring a lot of processing in order to pick those up and also to dispose of them.”
City Manager Garrett Evans said as far back as 2017, the city picked up 632 mattresses and 361 couches or sofa chairs in a year. Davis said in 2021 the City estimated there were more than 1,200 tons or 306 cubic yards of debris, while 2022 that number was approximately 288 cubic yards.
The ordinance becomes effective April 18, 2024.
For more information, contact the City of Pittsburg Community and Economic Development Department at (925) 252-4039 or visit pittsburgca.gov.
Feb 26 – Pittsburg Could Increase Illegal Dumping Penalties
3 comments
Just dump it in Antioch, $0 fines.
SOB!! City of Lamar can make a boat load of money if he can get a 1000 bucks out of people Dumping trash. Damn even if they can’t pay remove all services they get and require them to pick up crap until it’s paid the fine off. Just saying.
Cameras, cameras and more cameras. About 15 years ago, we used two relatively inexpensive trail cameras in Antioch in a couple know dumping sites with excellent results. Today those devices are much better and should be considered as a first line of defense against illegal dumping. Problem was, no one was fined or prosecuted for their crimes. Can’t change attitude and behavior until scofflaws are held accountable either through actual fines or arrest.
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