Detroit installs hidden cameras around city to catch illegal dumpers

Illegal dumping is a major problem in some Detroit neighborhoods, almost all of which are poor. According to the city of Detroit, “Each week, workers from the city’s Public Works Department remove more than 500 tons of illegally dumped material across the city.”

[Model D covered Detroit Re-tread, a company that has been collecting and recycling dumped tires since 2012, in an article about the city’s reuse economy]

The residents of these neighborhoods are fed up with having trash disrespectfully thrown near their homes. And the city has responded with a new initiative to catch these illegal dumpers by installing over a dozen hidden cameras at popular dumping sites.

According to the city of Detroit, the new initiative has already led to 22 charges based on video evidence from the cameras. The city even posted a video of one such incident.

“For too long, people have used our neighborhoods as dumping grounds because they could get away with it,” said Mayor Duggan, in a press release. “We are going to charge them, and whenever we can we are going to use existing laws to seize the vehicle they used in this criminal activity.”

According to the city, the total cost of the cameras is about $75,000, plus a little more each month for electricity and maintenance. Much of that will likely be recouped through fines from blight citations.