Ray Mariano: Worcester needs to get tougher on litter, illegal dumpers
City officials are more polite than I am. They call people who litter the city, with hundreds of tons of trash, illegal dumpers and litterbugs.
But I don’t feel constrained by the boundaries of polite language. I call them slobs! Actually, at times I call them much worse but this is a family newspaper. So let’s go with slobs.
There are two parts to this problem. The first is illegal dumping where people throw old tires, broken appliances, mattresses and anything else they have in the woods or some secluded area. The second is the millions of pieces of litter that line so many city streets. Collectively, there are hundreds of tons of this garbage lying around, leaving black marks on the city’s smile.
Cold weather doesn’t slow the slobs down. But snow and snow plows can cover up much of the ugliness. However, every spring when the winter snow and sludge melt away, the problem jumps right out at you, exposing all of that rotting litter.
There are a number of reasons for the problem. Some people blame the pay-as-you-throw trash collection and flimsy trash bags. Others continue to complain about recycling containers that don’t work. Then there are those who think the city should sweep streets more often and that there should be more public trash receptacles.
Yes, these problems all contribute to the mountains of litter and trash we see stuck in trees and bushes and floating around the neighborhoods. But none of these problems touch on the real source of the trash — the slobs who choose to throw trash wherever they want.
Recently, the city announced that it will be receiving a state grant that will help it purchase a few surveillance cameras to place at known illegal dumping sites. Currently the city has a few antiquated cameras that are essentially useless. With dozens of known dump sites spread across the city, that’s hardly enough to tackle the problem.
The city needs to do more. Here are my suggestions.
First, the city needs to hire more staff to investigate instances of illegal dumping and areas of significant litter. The present inspectional system is predominantly complaint-driven. If no one calls, the problem just sits there and the trash keeps piling up. The city needs to move to a more proactive system where staff is out in the community inspecting properties daily and requiring folks to bring their business property, residential property or vacant lot into compliance. That requires more staff.
Second, the city needs to get tougher with offenders. Along with fines for abusers, the city should up the ante for repeat offenders, requiring them to spend a few hours cleaning up trash from some of the more public places —so that their friends and neighbors can see them. And offenders should be required to wear a safety vest complete with letters that spell out “Slob.” OK, I’ll settle for a vest with “Illegal Dumper.”
Imagine that you’re driving along the I-290 Belmont Street off-ramp and you see your neighbor picking up trash. I’ll bet you’ll think twice about rolling down your window and tossing your fast-food leftovers on the side of the road.
Third, the city needs an aggressive anti-litter campaign. City leaders plan to use some of the grant funds for “outreach and education” creating “flyers, brochures and engagement materials for tabling at community events throughout the year.”
See, that’s part of the problem right there. The city is going to be too polite. The materials it creates will tell people nicely that littering and illegal dumping is a problem. But everyone knows that they’re not supposed to litter so the message will miss the mark.
Forget the flyers. Put large signage across city buses that say “Don’t be a slob! Stop littering.” Then put that message on a few billboards.
Fourth, our local officials should do more. Litter attracts more litter — it’s like a magnet. The first step in dealing with this problem is getting the neighborhoods clean. To do that, you need dozens of small neighborhood cleanups all across the city.
The best way to do that is for city leaders to actually lead. Starting with the district councilors but including every other elected leader, we need a small army of local citizens organized and cleaning up their neighborhoods. And our elected leaders should show how important this is by putting on a pair of gloves and leading the way.
If neighborhood people get involved in cleaning up their community, they become invested in keeping it that way.
School Committee members should involve local schools in the effort. Having children participate and understand why this is so important is a great way to educate future citizens about the need to respect our public spaces. And the children will bring that message home with them.
And finally, the city should help those whose property has been used by others as their own personal landfill — dumping mattresses, appliances and other items — by more aggressively using cameras to catch the culprits and using their fines to pay for removing the trash. The city needs to invest in at least two dozen cameras connected to a network that allows them to instantly monitor each site daily. It’s not that expensive and it’s not all that complicated. We did it when I was at the WHA and we stopped illegal dumping in its tracks.
But none of this happens if the City Council just sits on its hands. It’s time to clean up the city.
Email Raymond V. Mariano at rmariano.telegram@gmail.com. He served four terms as mayor of Worcester and previously served on the City Council and School Committee. He grew up in Great Brook Valley and holds degrees from Worcester State College and Clark University. He was most recently executive director of the Worcester Housing Authority. His column appears weekly in the Sunday Telegram. His endorsements do not necessarily reflect the position of the Telegram & Gazette.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Ray Mariano: Worcester needs to get tough on litter, illegal dumping
