Columbus hopes fines help deter illegal dumping

Columbus has created new civil penalties for illegal dumping and solid waste violations, but some wonder whether they’ll really keep alleys and lots free of trash.

“For me it’s a wait-and-see kind of thing until we see improvement,” said Lisa Boggs, a Hilltop community leader who for years has been pushing the city to do something about the dumping problem. “It will make it easier for inspectors and police to write tickets.”

The Columbus City Council approved on July 28 sweeping changes to the city’s refuse collection code, the first in more than 20 years.

They include for the first time civil penalties, fines ranging from $100 to $1,000 for violations.

“This gives us the ability to have civil violation when (people) are not in compliance,” said Tim Swauger, the city’s Refuse Division administrator.

Swauger said the city has been able to bring criminal charges against violators, but not civil cases.

These new rules will give city officials the authority to cite landlords who set out tenants’ belongings on the curb and don’t hire private haulers to take them away.

They also give them the ability to fine people who dump trash into someone else’s container, or don’t bag their trash, or leave containers in the right-of-way.

In an emailed statement, City Attorney Zach Klein said the new rule means that refuse workers can collect the waste and charge administrative fines to the property owner. Before, the city could only ask a court to order the property owner to properly dispose of the trash, a lengthy process that could allow the property to be a nuisance for a long period.

Klein also said his office now has a dedicated prosecutor who is meeting regularly with refuse workers to work on illegal dumping criminal cases.

So far this year the city has won seven convictions in illegal dumping cases. It had 10 in 2019.

Swauger said discussions with residents led to the changes.

“They feel they need strict enforcement to combat this,” he said.

Judy Box, a longtime Franklinton resident and former leader of the Franklinton Area Commission, said that for years an alley between Guilford and Stevens avenues has been a dumping ground for mountains of household goods.

She said the city hasn’t done a good enough job of trying to catch the dumpers.

Trent Smith, the executive director of the Franklinton Board of Trade, said dumping in Franklinton has been a consistent problem.

“We’ve had groups of people clean alleys, and you drive down the very next day see more stuff,” Smith said. “It’s obvious when an eviction set out has happened. It is obnoxious and constant in this neighborhood.”

Bob Hughes, a Franklinton resident upset about dumping, said civil fines are good but the city needs more solid waste inspectors. Columbus now has five. The city also has 28 cameras to try to catch illegal dumpers.

Boggs said the city should target big dumpers and specific neighborhoods. The city said hot spots where illegal dumping crews are picking up the highest amount of tonnage are the Hilltop and Franklinton, Linden and the near Southeast Side.

“They still don’t have enough cameras, enough inspectors,” Boggs said.

“It can’t hurt. Sometimes you have to hit them in the pocket.”

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik