Camden officials are cracking down on illegal dumping with a network of cameras, drones and rewards of up to $1,000 for residents who help police catch people leaving trash where it doesn’t belong.
City leaders say Camden spends $4.5 million a year cleaning up illegal dump sites, money they say could be better used elsewhere.
“No neighborhood should be treated like a dumping ground,” Mayor Victor Carstarphen said.
Police showed NBC10 numerous surveillance videos of people driving to locations and unloading trash along roads and in other areas. Police said that in one case, people gutting a house dumped debris in an empty lot next door.
Officials said some of the people caught dumping are contractors who apparently did not want to pay to rent a dumpster. They also warned that people cannot simply put their trash in someone else’s dumpster.
Capt. Gordon Harvey of the Camden Police Department described one case in which someone chose an especially conspicuous place to leave their trash.
“This one is ironic because they thought they could use the police department’s dumpster as their private dumpster. Probably not the best choice,” Harvey said.
Officials say Camden has a network of 1,000 fixed and mobile cameras helping police identify and fine people accused of illegal dumping. Police showed video of several incidents, including one involving a person who officials said has been charged twice this year.
“So we are trying to hit them where it counts,” Carstarphen said. “We are hitting them in their pockets.”
The city is also deploying its drone unit in the fight against illegal dumping. But officials say some of their most important eyes are the people who live in Camden.
The mayor said residents can receive a reward of up to $1,000 for helping police catch illegal dumpers, along with having their street cleaned. Officials are asking people who witness dumping to safely record video and send it to police.
For retired police Capt. Vivian Coley, seeing newly cleaned areas become dumping grounds again is frustrating.
“It is extremely hurtful to conduct a cleanup on Monday morning and two days later go back to that same spot and observe piles of tires and debris in that area,” Coley said.
Part of this story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.
