PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Fines for illegal dumping would increase, under a bill that a City Council committee advanced on Wednesday.
The goal is to work on a problem the city has been fighting for decades, but which has become worse in the last year.
Fines would go from $300 to $1,000 for what is known as short dumping, dropping refuse along roads or in vacant lots, instead of taking it to a disposal station.
It's a widespread practice in Philadelphia, but Deputy Streets Commissioner Keith Warren said there are hotspots.
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"We have a list that we call the 'Dirty Thirty,'" he said.
"It's probably up to 50 locations since the pandemic started, but those are known spots that, as fast as we clean it up, somebody's dumping there again."
Warren said that cameras mounted in some of the spots have been helpful as a deterrent, but he said that dumpers are mostly contractors who view fines as part of the cost of doing business.
"We're here today, hoping that the fines get increased to make the penalty more than the cost of disposing of it properly," said Warren.
The bill passed, and it now goes to the full Council.