Scioto County is not supposed to be a trashcan. But you might not be able to tell that by looking.
“I don’t know why people think the great outdoors is their personal trash bin.” Scioto County Commissioner Bryan Davis is fed up with the amount of illegal dumping that’s going on in the county.
Cleanup Crews Not Available
The problem has only gotten worse since the COVID-19 lockdown prevented prisoners and probationers from doing their daily clean-up duties.
“We typically use folds from STAR and the work release programs. The city uses inmates as well. We don’t have this extra man power. As soon as that frees up, we have a lot of work to do.”
Davis said he witnessed the mess first-hand recently. “I was on top of Pond Run the other day and there was a bunch of furniture on top of that hill. Right now we don’t have the crews to go out to get that.”
Just Stop Dumping
Davis expressed frustration and reminded people that if you have large items to get rid of, you can drop them off at the Portsmouth Transfer Station. The commissioner also said that garbage causes a particular problem when cities and the country try to mow the grass. The trash gets cut up and becomes even harder to clean up.
He once again issued a plea for county residents to stop dumping and littering.
Check out these images shared by Caroline Gold of a mess at Tracy Park today.
Cleanups Still On
Commissioner Cathy Coleman said that many townships are still holding spring cleanups. Residents are advised to check with their local governments as to when the cleanups will be held.
Davis said that once personnel was available to tackle the job, “We’ll get on it as soon as we can. ”
Litterbug Busted
If you’ll recall, New Boston Police dealt with a litterbug of their own last week. Jeremy Wright, of Wheelersburg, was caught on camera twice dumping trash in the village. Eagle-eyed citizens identified him by the photos NBPD posted on their Facebook page. He was cited for his crime.
Commissioners have long expressed frustration at the amount of illegal dumping that happens in the county on a daily basis. Back in February, the last full month where inmate and probation work crews were available for cleanup duty, the county removed 8.7 tons of illegally dumped garbage.