NORTHSHORE – Illegal dumping isn't a new problem in Lake County, but it may require new thinking and new solutions in order to reduce it and, eventually, eliminate it.
That's the opinion of District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing, who will give a presentation on the subject to fellow members of the Board of Supervisors today.
Rushing will be assisted in the presentation by Caroline Chavez, deputy director of the Public Services Department, who helps manage the county's landfills.
“We're defining the problem, talking about potential solutions and making recommendations for next steps,” Rushing said Monday.
Rushing said the problem can't be attributed to any one thing.
“If you really want to look at the root cause of what's going on, you need to look at our culture,” said Rushing.
She gave one example by describing the life of an appliance. After it begins to break down, it's passed down to someone who may not be able to afford to repair it or pay to have it taken to the landfill once it stops working. So that person may need to get rid of it might hire an illegal hauler to take it away, and that individual ends up dumping it in a local creek or rural area.
“There's a whole set of causes,” Rushing said. “Usually cost and convenience of disposal top the list.”
While there are numerous causes, Rushing said, “There's a whole set of potential solutions.”
Special cleanup days don't work as well, said Rushing, because they don't happen regularly. The trick, she said, is to prevent accumulation of trash.
Instead, a better solution might be ongoing drop-off opportunities at the landfill.
Long-term solutions need to be found, said Rushing, or illegal dumping – which is not just an environmental but a health issue – will continue.
In her report Rushing notes that Lucerne's Morrison Creek, which recently was cleaned up through a multi-agency and community-driven effort, had been cleaned up before.
Unless new approaches are found, she said, the creek – which enters Clear Lake near the inlet for the community's water system – likely will be the site of illegal dumping in the future.
Rushing's report to the board asks they consider the following:
– Assess the illegal dumping problems and adopt a broad plan to manage it.
– Consider requiring all landlords in the county's unincorporated areas to provide their tenants with weekly curbside garbage collection. This is an action which Rushing acknowledges “would represent a significant departure from past practice” but which she suggests can no longer be avoided. Such a measure, she believes, would significantly reduce the amount of household garbage being illegally dumped.
– Implement quarterly or semi-annual curbside residential pick up of appliances, furniture and other household junk. These materials, which frequently end up being dumped in the county's rural areas, can't be handled by regular curbside garbage service, Rushing said.
Her report also notes that Code Enforcement Manager Voris Brumfield is working with county Redevelopment Agency staff on a proposal to restrict access to some of the Northshore's “paper subdivision” areas, where illegal dumping is commonly seen.
Rushing will present a Power Point presentation detailing some of her suggestions about reducing illegal dumping beginning at 11 a.m.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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