Charlotte has an illegal dumping problem. City says it needs help
Charlotteans illegally dump about 10 tons of trash every single day — much of it large, bulky items — and the city has to divert garbage crews from normal routes to collect it.
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Now the city is looking for help. Officials say residents play an important role in curbing the problem and keeping streets clean even if they’re not the culprits behind the dumps.
“You see a couch on the end of the street? That’s wrong. That shouldn’t be there. We just advise residents to call it in as quickly as they can,” said Eric DeLaPena, Deputy Director for Charlotte Solid Waste Services. “Because unfortunately, once that couch is out, then it sort of attracts attention, then other people start dumping, and then before you know it, it’s a much larger problem.”
Illegal dumping is a crime that can lead to hundreds of dollars of fines in some cases and can be considered a Class I felony in others, depending on the weight of the objects and intent of the dumper.
Illegal dumping refers to items that are intentionally discarded in unauthorized spots like side streets or the woods. It does not refer to residents who dispose of large items by placing them on the curb in front of their homes, although that is also not allowed. In both cases, residents should call the city to schedule a pickup.
Charlotte deploys about 10 dedicated litter crews in the field each day. At least two of those teams, sometimes more, get pulled into managing illegal dump sites that weren’t pre-scheduled.
Trash from those sites account for a small fraction of the more than 1,000 tons of trash that crews collect every day.
“But it’s significant because we’re breaking crews away from what they normally do in order to handle something that should not happen in the first place,” DeLaPena said.
Solid Waste Services keeps its eye on a few “hot spots” where repeat offenders dump trash. Most illegally dumped items are reported by residents, however.
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Dead-end streets and places with low lighting tend to be hardest hit by litter, according to DeLaPena.
Residential areas see more furniture items, sometimes enough to fill an entire house, he said.
In commercial areas, the biggest threat is tires. And they’re just that — a threat. Solid Waste crews sometimes pick up more than six tons of tires from the middle of roadways in a single day.
All of this could be avoided with a single call to schedule a pickup service with the city’s bulk waste team.
“If something is scheduled, we know pretty much what’s out there,” DeLaPena said. “We know what volume we’re expecting. We know how many resources to assign to that routing. It’s so much easier for us and for the resident to just schedule the pickup.”
To report illegally dumped trash or to schedule a time for crews to pick up bulky items that are too big for normal garbage routes, call 311, visit the city’s website at charlottenc.gov or download the CLT+ app.
The service is free.
“If you live in the city limits, and you are a resident of Charlotte, it’s so easy to just call 311 and schedule a bulk pickup,” DeLaPena said. “There’s so many different ways to contact someone to schedule service.”
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