Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams, along with city and county officials, at a press conference in a vacant lot in Summit Terrace that is a hot spot for illegal dumping.
Harrisburg and Dauphin County will use new strategies to penalize those illegally dumping trash in the city.
City and county officials stood at the site of a dumping hotspot in Summit Terrace on Monday to talk about the new ways they plan to take action against repeat offenders.
“The last place this junk belongs is in someone’s backyard,” said Mayor Wanda Williams. “We are committed to doing everything we can to stop illegal dumping today.”
According to Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo, his office will work with the city to ramp up enforcement. Instead of using the city ordinances, Chardo said the city will use the state’s crimes code, which allows repeat offenders to face misdemeanor charges. The city code does not allow that. With the state’s charges come fines and mandatory trash cleanup hours.
“There are real teeth in this statute; that is a mandate,” Chardo said.
Additionally, all illegal dumping cases will now go before Magisterial District Judge Marian Urrutia, who presides over the 12-2-01 district court in Swatara Township. This will funnel the cases to one judge who can focus on enforcement, Chardo said.
According to city officials, magisterial district judges often let offenders off with a warning, or a “slap on the wrist,” as Williams described it.
Officials are now saying that enough is enough.
“We do not want to have to use the blunt instrument of the criminal justice system if we don’t have to, but we will if the problem continues,” Chardo said.
According to Public Works Director Dave West, this increased enforcement will also now apply to property owners who don’t take action to deter illegal dumping on their properties. They too may face criminal charges, fines and even fees for the city’s cleanup efforts on their properties.
The city also has at least a dozen cameras placed at dumping hot spots around the city to try to catch criminals.
West said that his crews are cleaning up illegal dumping sites in the city daily. In 2023, that work cost the city over $153,000. In the last year, over 700 tons of illegally dumped trash were picked up by the city.
“We are committed to full legal enforcement to clean up our capital city,” said Dauphin County Commissioner Mike Pries.
Harrisburg City Council member Ralph Rodriguez, who was present at the press conference, announced this summer’s dates for his Hot Spot Saturdays initiative, which encourages people to volunteer to clean up illegal dumping sites.
The dates are as follows:
- April 13, Camp Curtin area, from 10 a.m. to noon, meet at the Camp Curtin YMCA
- May 18, Allison Hill, from 10 a.m. to noon, meet near 13th and Swatara streets
- June 29, Midtown, from 10 a.m. to noon, meet outside Historic Harrisburg Association on N. 3rd Street
- July 20, Southside Cloverly Park area, from 10 a.m. to noon, meet at the Southside Boys and Girls Club
- Aug.24, North Allison Hill area, from 10 a.m. to noon, meet at 15th and Verbeke streets
- Sept. 14, Italian Lake, from 10 a.m. to noon, meet near Zembo Shrine
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