Community helps clean up illegal dumping sites on Wayne National Forest

PEDRO -- During the annual spring cleanup on the Wayne National Forest Ironton Ranger District, Forest Service employees and Federal Corrections Institute inmates in Ashland, Ky., cleaned up more than 28 illegal trash dumping sites as well as 10 miles of roadsides in Lawrence and Scioto counties in the Poplar Flats and Pine Creek areas.

The contents filled five and one-half roll-off Dumpsters and included 188 used tires. The tires and metal gas tanks were recycled. The Dumpsters were taken to the new Rumpke Transfer Station site in Lawrence County, a facility that separates out metal and other recyclable materials before land-filling the rest.

"Most of the trash was miscellaneous household debris, but we've been surprised at how many old gas tanks and hazardous items we found as well," said forestry technician Eddie Park, in a press release. "The excellent relationship the Forest has with the prison crew made all the difference in making this project successful. We discovered the recycling centers or landfills wouldn't take the fuel gas tanks unless they were cut up for safety reasons. The inmates cut them up and sorted the metal tanks to go to the recycling center. The plastic gas tanks were included with the other trash to be taken to the landfill."

The Lawrence-Scioto County Solid Waste District and the Forest Service continue their partnership. The two-county agency has been very active in the area cleaning up dumps both on federal and private lands.

The Forest Service and the solid waste district are working together on several cases.

"We are also working together to develop a surveillance strategy for catching violators," said Dan Palmer, Lawrence-Scioto County solid waste district coordinator.

County officials are stepping up efforts to address the issue, including raising fines and a no-tolerance policy on issuing fines for persons dumping. Palmer is leading an effort to raise state legislators' awareness of the problem.

Forest officials hope the public will report people seen illegally dumping on public lands by calling the ranger district office at 740-534-6500.