Keep Cincinnati Beautiful has introduced a new initiative to tackle illegal dumping in the city, which the nonprofit said costs taxpayers roughly $3 million to address each year.
To encourage legal disposal practices, KCB has launched the “Don’t Dump the ‘Nati” pilot. As part of the program, residents can bring large items to 2121 State Avenue on the last Friday of each month, preventing these materials from littering city hillsides and stormwater drains.
Staff from the city of Cincinnati’s Department of Public Services will help load and haul away the debris. Accepted items include furniture, yard waste and other debris at a designated location, preventing these materials from littering city hillsides and stormwater drains.
Another project partner is Rumpke Waste and Recycling.
Jonathan Adee, KCB’s executive director, called the program a “game changer.” He’ll join city and county leaders on Friday to an open house to teach residents and businesses about the businesses.
“The City has challenged us to come up with innovative solutions to illegal dumping, and we came up with Don’t Dump the ‘Nati,” Adee said in a statement.
Mitigating health, safety risks
Illegal dumping, which typically includes items such as landscape debris, construction waste, scrap tires and abandoned items, poses significant public health risks and it can also negatively affect property values.
Those who illegally dump typically target areas where they think they can avoid detection, Adee said, making them difficult to not only find but also remediate.
According to KCB, over 200 illegal dumpers are caught each year, and city officials work to clean up 15 to 20 dumpsites every month.
Working with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Environmental Crimes Unit and the Cincinnati Police Department, KCB aims to provide residents with a convenient way to dispose of waste properly, focusing on underserved neighborhoods where illegal dumping is a persistent issue.
KCB will host the program from March through Nov. 1. Over the course of the year, the organization projects to divert 1 million pounds of waste from city streets, hillsides and stormwater drains. That equates to about 125,000 pounds per event.
“We rely on everyone to do their part to make Cincinnati the Cleanest City in the Midwest,” Adee said.
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