'We all have to pay': Illegal dumping saga continues in Milwaukee County parks, officials propose solutions

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- You can find all kinds of beautiful nature and wildlife in the 15,000 acres that make up the Milwaukee County Parks system -- but you can also find piles upon piles of garbage and other litter.

The issue of illegal dumping isn't new, but that in and of itself poses a problem for park officials and Milwaukee County taxpayers.

"It came to me the first day on the job, we got a report of dumping when I started here," recalled Peter Bratt, the director of operations and skilled trades for Milwaukee County Parks, who has worked for the organization for decades. "It's been a problem for years."

Bratt said items typically found range from clothing to electronics to large pieces of furniture and everything in between. 

While the problem is constant, Bratt said it can ebb and flow in the seasons and at the beginning of the months when people can get evicted.

"A lot of times, we have to hire outside consultants or contractors because it's medical waste," Bratt said. "Our staff are the ones picking this up."

The city has multiple drop-off centers on its northwest and south sides that are open year-round.

It's free for passenger cars, $20 dollars for pickup trucks, and up to $90 dollars for larger vehicles. 

“They don’t want to pay the fees or follow the calendar that the city has for dumping sites, so they often choose to dump in our community parks," Bratt said. “You might not be paying because you had a free place to dump but we are all paying as community members.”

That money comes out of the park's operating budget, which could otherwise go toward renovations or beautifications. 

It also directly impacts taxpayers' wallets.

“Now our taxes are going to come up because that’s an extra fee and that’s unfair," said Wayne Glenn, who lives near the Oak Leaf Trail by Fond du Lac Ave. "That’s unfair when it’s something that can be done.”

Glenn spoke with CBS 58 by the trail's entrance, where several large piles of trash were present, from bins filled with papers to seven mattresses stacked on top of one another.

“This is probably the most I’ve seen dumped at one time I mean, and this is a lot," Glenn said, noting his children grew up riding bikes along the path and he and his wife still take regular strolls down the trail. “This is not good for this neighborhood or in the city, period, to have illegal dumping going on.”

So, what can be done?

Park officials have already closed parts of certain paths, installed trail cameras along multiple dumping hotspots, and sent law enforcement to patrol the areas. 

“You’ll never be able to patrol all the areas where people can dump so I just think that’s misplaced. I think it makes people feel good that okay we’re policing this but you’re just going to push the problem somewhere else," said Ted Strupp of Wauwatosa, who was biking along the Oak Leaf Trail on Monday. “We have to rethink the solutions that we’re providing, and I wish people were more responsible, but I think there’s reasons people make the choices they do.”

Strupp said he doesn't judge the people who do the dumping, and instead wonders how officials can help "solve their need."

“These are people in a situation maybe they’re homeless, maybe they’re evicted," Strupp said. “I'm not worried personally about the cost of it, I’d just rather not see it."

In the meantime, officials are asking the community to stay vigilant if they're outside.

To report illegal dumping, click here.