LAKE COUNTY >> Illegal dumping in District 3 continues and is creating health hazards.
For Nice resident Sue Joss, there have been issues for some time, including trash next to her home and down the rural lane. She said she has seen people bring truck loads and dump it on the side of the road.
“Carpets, mattresses, furniture, old bottles, garbage, plastic, old children toys and it goes clear down the driveway and down the road,” Joss said. “It’s just a terrible problem.”
Joss and her neighbors receive garbage collection service. But like most pick up operations, crew members are contracted to empty cans set out front of client homes, not collect material dumped elsewhere.
When the trash first started to be an issue, Joss said she hardly even noticed it until her friend pointed it out. She said it must be from it accumulating so gradually. The trash has even brought in rats that weren’t there before and has created a problem inside of her home.
“Living in a rural area I have dealt with field mice, but now I have large rats and I believe it is brought on by the garbage. Part of the reason I bought up there is because it’s beautiful and private and I had room,” Joss said.
She said she tried to work through Code Enforcement.
“After I filed a claim I called them being very annoying and got calls back and talked to some clients and they told to go to the District Supervisor, and I really feel he has helped me quite a bit,” Joss said.
She said the District Supervisor, Jim Steele, had a history of dealing with illegal dumping on another street and played a big role in getting that cleaned up.
Jeri Driver, the Code Enforcement Technician for Lake County, said there is a Trash Ordinance in place but it is a little vague and only requires that people store their trash in a trash receptacle with a fitting lid.
“There is no time frame for removing the trash or any requirement for trash to be collected by a service,” Driver said. “We do receive many complaints regarding trash, debris and open and outdoor storage of junk.”
When a property is found to be in violation of the general Trash Ordinance, Driver said Code Enforcement post a Notice of Nuisance and Order to Abate, giving the offender 30 days to correct the issue.
Joss said she first put in her complaint in early June and it has taken some time to get the process put through. Steele said he understands that illegal dumping is one of the bigger issues in his district and plans on doing what he can to fix it.
“We are trying to set up a town meeting in September on the trash pickup issue and invite the whole North Shore,” Steele said.
Steele had just finished setting up the third Advisory Council for his district to get all communities covered and hear issues each one is having, including trash pickup. Hopes to find a solution and potentially get Universal Garbage Pickup in the county is still in the works.
