HARRISBURG, Pa. — Harrisburg and Dauphin County leaders are looking to crack down on illegal dumping.
Officials say illegally dumped trash is piling up around the city of Harrisburg and throughout Dauphin County. On Monday, city and county leaders are unveiling a plan to curb illegal dumping and hit offenders in their wallets.
Harrisburg officials say prosecuting suspects has become difficult, even when they are caught on city cameras.
But that may soon change.
Additional fines within the Pennsylvania Code are expected to be imposed on repeat offenders. City officials say the trash is piling up faster than what public works and sanitation workers can clean.
"They are doing their absolute hardest to clean this up, every single day," said Matt Maisel, communications director for the City of Harrisburg. "It's so frustrating when you pick up and clean up an illegal dump site, and then two weeks later it's right back to what it was. It's equivalent to putting your fingers in the bottom of a leaky boat."
Maisel also says more trash in neighborhoods can lead to more crime.
"If we can clean up illegal dump sites, stop them from happening to begin with, then we can do a better job of making our neighborhoods safer," said Maisel. "It's all connected."
The city plans to have magisterial district judge Marian Urrutia handle all illegal dumping cases moving forward.
Meanwhile, Harrisburg city councilman Ralph Rodriguez has already made initiatives to clean up illegal dump sites with his hot spot Saturdays held throughout the spring and summer.
Harrisburg and Dauphin County officials met at 12th and Baily Streets at 10:30 a.m. to release more information about their efforts to clean up illegal dumping.