COLUMBUS, Ohio — The City of Columbus is cracking down on illegal dumping by adding more investigators and converting 300-gallon garbage cans to 90-gallon cans.
Cutting down on the size of garbage cans will help limit the space for people who dump their waste into others people’s garbage cans.
The Hilltop area will see an 80% conversion of garbage cans this year.
“The next 300-gallon conversion in the Hilltop is scheduled for May when about 840 households will go to 90-gallon containers. About 80% of these will remain alley collection due to the high volume of on-street parking and one-way streets in the neighborhood that make front collection by our refuse trucks not feasible,” said Tim Swauger, administrator for the City of Columbus Refuse Collection.
The neighborhood is known for illegal dumping because of the abundance of 300-gallon trash cans located in its alleys.
“Illegal dumping is occurring in many neighborhoods across Columbus, but remains a significant problem for residents of the Greater Hilltop,” said Dan Fagan, chairperson of the Greater Hilltop Area Commission.
“There have been efforts made by the city over the last couple of years to address illegal dumping and trash in the alleys," Fagan said. "But more investments in fighting [to dump] and remediating it once it occurs are needed. The solutions require prevention, reporting, and remediation."
He said while he commends the City for converting to small trash cans, he said the city needs to do more.
“Along with the proper trucks and equipment, there are alley improvements needed to support on-going trash pickup from the alleys, which include paving and repairing alleys including potholes, remediating flooding issues, and providing more lighting."
This year, Columbus is adding two more waste investigators who will work Tuesday through Saturday to help catch people who illegally dump tires and other materials.
“We've recognized that the 300-gallon containers are magnets for illegal dumping. It's mainly because they sit in the public right of way. They are there all the time and they are large," said Swauger. "We recognize people are illegally dumping on evenings and weekends so we are going to add two additional sold waste investigators to do more enforcement during those hours."
The City said it’s aggressively going after illegal dumpers and shared its enforcement efforts:
2022 illegal dumping collection:
- Total Bulk Tons: 3,655.92
- Total # Tires: 4,161
- Total Tons Tires: 43.69
- Total: 3,699.63 tons
The total tonnage is down from 5,340 tons collected in 2021.
Illegal dumping criminal cases:
- 2022: 22 cases – 56 separate counts filed
- 2021: 28 cases – 49 separate counts
- 18 guilty pleas (sentences included $6,873 in fines and court costs and 72 hours of community service)
- Seven bench warrants issued for failure to appear
- Three cases dismissed (One as a plea on another criminal case – Two by judge for payment of court costs)
- 2020: 59 criminal counts filed
- 43 guilty pleas (sentences included $18,722 in fines and court costs and 508 hours of community service)
- Two bench warrants issued for failure to appear
- 13 counts dismissed as part of a plea deal for guilty on additional charge.
2022 Civil Cases Totals
- 57 violations filed
- $48,250 in civil fines issued
- $7,870 billed for remediation charges
2021 Civil Totals
- 40 individual cases – including 86 separate counts
- $76,250 in fines issued
- $7,627.88 billed for remediation charges
2020 Civil Totals
- 26 counts
- $24,000 in fines issued
- $13,092.61 billed for remediation charges
The city says when it comes to illegal dumping, it’s not people traveling long miles to find a place to dump their tires.
“A lot of contractors flipping houses doing construction in the area are what we find is doing the most illegal dumping. It happens within two or three blocks from where it was generated. People are not driving across town and illegal dumping,” Swauger said.
Residents can contact 311 if they recognize illegal dumpers. It can also be reported online at https://www.columbus.gov/311/, by calling 614-645-3111, or by emailing 311@columbus.gov.