Drive along any deserted part of town and you may not be surprised to find an illegally dumped mattress. These bulky pieces of furniture can’t be disposed of in regular trash pick-ups, often leading residents to sneak to a quiet location to drop off their mattresses.
Dumping garbage on public property is illegal in California. Perpetrators who are caught face fines of up to $3,000. The practice of placing a “free” sign on unwanted items dumped on the sidewalk does not grant the offending party immunity from the law.
This penalty didn’t stop two men in a Toyota Minibus from illegally dumping a mattress at Mussel Rock Beach Park in Pacifica on Sunday. A paraglider took a photo of the men and was also able to get the car’s license plate number.
Over in North Fair Oaks, in unincorporated Redwood City, local officials have been working with various Sheriff’s departments to increase monitoring of problematic areas. Manual Ramirez of the North Fair Oaks Council said garbage clean-up was his number one priority, and that the Public Works Department should increase communication with the Sheriff’s deputies whenever an incident occurs.
“We want to educate the people about this problem,” Ramirez said. “But we also want to warn people that they won’t get away with this.”
Companies like SleepTrain and Mancini’s provide a free recycling program when someone purchases a mattress from them. However, many residents are purchasing their mattress online or from one-way retailers, who do not have recycling policies once customers need to dispose of their mattress.
Recology will collect mattresses from residential units for free at two free clean-ups per year. The rate charged at the Transfer Station is $19, which increased in January 2011, according to Lillian Clark of the Public Works Department. The extra charge if you have used your two free clean-ups is $82.92.
Tell us in the comments: how should the county further discourage illegal mattress dumping?
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However hit then in there pocketbook and they will catch on quick!!!
8:45 am on Sunday, March 3, 2013 Perhaps some people are not familluar [SIC] with American Culture and would happily comply if they new that was the thing to do. -------------------------------------------------------------- I congratulate you, Buck, for finding a way to inject a note of anti-immigrant bigotry into a conversation that has absolutely nothing to do with immigrants.
1. Political Buy-In Planning - support must be provided by local gov staff and this includes having enough money available to implement and operate the program plus having sufficient staff to do the work. 2. Management Structure - Common in this area are the involvement of law enforcement and other gov agencies - and all need good communications. 3. Education - Critical for success. Allows for public buy in and notification. There are multiple audiences and they should be targeted with clear messages like "STOP TRASHING OUR PENINSULA." Hotlines are essential. 4. Enforcement and Prosecution - Illegal dumpers must face real threat of being caught and punished. 5. Clean Up - cleanup of existing dumpsites is integral and methods for keeping sites clean include signs, lighting, barriers, education and surveillance. Funds can be available through dumping fines. 6. Program Admin - Dumpsites should be mapped, data for number of complaints and cases prosecuted maintained and program evaluation are important components.
http://www.svdp.us/what-we-do/recycling-and-manufacturing/mattress-recycling