A new task force is cracking down on illegal trash dumping in Philadelphia in a big way.
The team is watching hundreds of surveillance camera, putting boots on the ground and hitting violators with heft fines.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker established the Clean and Green cabinet in 2024 and the team has already collected millions in fines.
Inside the surveillance room at Philadelphia’s Sanitation Center, there are just 10 people busy scanning 470 cameras throughout the city.
The workers are searching for people illegally dumping trash.
As of now, the operation does not run 24 hours, but Clean and Green Director Carlton Williams said that he’s hoping that will change soon.
“If we have more eyes on the street, more boots on the ground, more people watching these locations, the less likely people are to make an attempt to dump,” he explained.
Recently, 40 recruits completed their training and by October, they’ll be the ones fanning out to dumping hotspots where they’ll write up cases on the spot whenever they catch illegal dumpers in action.
Once spotted, a case is made up so the violator can be tracked down and then a crew is sent to clean it up.
The crackdown is costly and violators could be fined up to $5,000 per item tossed.
“It says a message to people that if you get caught dumping in our city, you’re going to pay the price for it,” Williams said.
Williams told NBC10 that since launching the effort one year ago, they’ve already closed 49 cases and collected $3 million in fines.
Kelsey Kushner and Emily Rose Grassi
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