EASTHAMPTON – Just a short distance inside a bucolic patch of woods off Oliver Street lies an unusual sight: an array of some 40 television tubes neatly laid on the ground.
The TV parts, along with a nearby pile of fencing scraps, were discovered in December by a Department of Public Works employee. City officials say the debris at this site, across from the solar array at the capped former landfill, is just the latest example of people illegally dumping trash on city-owned property.
And now, facing sky-high disposal costs and the health hazards presented by such rubbish, the city hopes that installing surveillance cameras at several traditionally popular dumping sites will deter illegal disposal and assist in the prosecution of any future offenders.
“We have a concern that people think it’s OK to drive to Easthampton and dump their trash in a wooded area,” city Health Agent Jackie Duda said Tuesday at the Oliver Street site. “I don’t want it to grow into a trend.”
Duda contacted the state Department of Environmental Protection after the rubbish was discovered. The agency investigated the site and offered to pay for surveillance cameras there and elsewhere in Easthampton.
Duda said the plan is to work with DEP staff to identify which city-owned properties subjected to dumping would benefit most from the cameras. She said nothing has been finalized and she is unsure when the cameras will be installed or how many will be used. And she was unwilling to specify which other sites might be selected.
The cameras are motion-activated and infrared, and as such are able to capture clear images during both day and night. The footage would be stored at the DEP’s western regional office in Springfield and analyzed by its staff, Duda said.
The city also plans to install signs on sites where cameras are installed. The signs warn people that video surveillance is in use and that dumping is prohibited and punishable by a $3,000 fine. The postings also urge residents to report violations to the Health Department.
The cost of the dozen signs is $350, Duda said.
Catherine Skiba, spokeswoman for the Springfield DEP office, said Tuesday that cameras are sometimes loaned to municipalities to aid in active investigations by the DEP as part of a program of its Environmental Strike Force. She said she would compile answers on Wednesday to other questions asked by the Gazette about the details of the program.
DEP cameras have been successfully used to catch illegal dumpers on state or municipal property in the Greater Boston area. Nine people were caught on DEP cameras illegally disposing of rubbish in Lawrence in 2012, according to The Valley Patriot newspaper.
On Tuesday, Duda and DPW Director Joseph I. Pipczynski took a reporter and photographer to the Oliver Street site to survey the debris. They said the discovery of trash at that property follows two other instances of illegal dumping in Easthampton in recent months.
Members of the Easthampton Rod & Gun Club in January removed a refrigerator from the Manhan River near Fort Hill Road.
And furniture and other household items were found nearby on city-owned property on Fort Hill Road around the same time. That was disposed of by the city at a cost of $1,500, according to Pipczynski.
So when the junk dumped off Oliver Street was discovered, Duda said she felt compelled to do something, and not just because of the cost.
Pipczynski estimates that it will cost $2,000 to $3,000 to properly dispose of all of the TV tubes.
The city charges residents a small fee to collect old TVs, which are placed in a container that is picked up by a disposal company when full at a cost of $3,000.
“This should fill the container,” Pipczynski said of the dozens of TV tubes.
Duda, who enforces state sanitary laws in Easthampton, said she was able to partner with the DPW to deal with the Oliver Street site because it is owned by the city. In the case of private property, landlords are responsible for cleaning up any rubbish — illegally dumped or not. The fact that the dumping has occurred on public property in Easthampton is also the reason why the DEP is able to install the surveillance cameras.
The city has in the past dealt with improperly disposed items, but Pipczynski said the Oliver Street debris is a special case.
“This is something different than the sporadic couch,” he said. “It’s much more coordinated — and expensive.”
The tubes are not enclosed in the plastic housing typical of a TV. Duda and Pipczynski said they are not sure exactly who would dump such a large number of hazardous parts, but they have ideas.
Duda wonders if the culprit of the “methodological” dump is someone who collects TVs in order to remove the small amounts of precious metals contained inside.
The cathode ray television tubes present health and safety hazards when improperly disposed. The vacuum tubes can implode when shattered and often contain high levels of lead. Because of that, disposal of the tubes is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Duda said the city has not yet cleaned up the tubes because she was waiting to publicize the problem once the ground was clear of snow. Pipczynski said the TV tubes and fencing will now be cleaned up by his department by next week.
Duda said she hopes her pleas for keeping a tidy city and the future signs and surveillance cameras will send a clear message to would-be dumpers.
“We think if you bring attention to the problem it will make people a lot more wary about dumping,” Duda said. “We don’t want people to think this is a place you can dump in.”
Duda urges those who may have information about illegal dumping to call the Health Department at 529-1430. Anonymous tips are accepted.
Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com.