Costly illegal dumps in Fresno County are growing. What’s behind it and what’s being done
Trash illegally dumped along roads is increasing, Fresno County employees say, and a new partnership has been formed with the Sheriff’s Office to address it.
More than $1.5 million in taxpayer dollars was spent last year picking up trash in the public right-of-way along more than 3,400 miles of roads maintained by Fresno County, said Steve White, director of the Fresno County Department of Public Works and Planning.
“Common sense says there is a lot more this year because people have a lot more time on their hands,” White said.
Part of the $1.5 million includes county staff being required to sort, log and store some garbage before road crews can dispose of what they pick up, said Martin Querin, division manager of the county’s Road Maintenance and Operations Division.
Querin said employees tasked with picking up roadside garbage have been seeing more of it. There’s also been an increase in trash legally disposed in the county landfill over the past year – about 10% to 15% more trash there, White said.
Piles of broken appliances, trash, frustrating for neighbors
One growing illegal dump site is in the dirt parking lot of an old shuttered grocery store at Bryan and McKinley avenues, west of Fresno. It was loaded with garbage and broken appliances Friday afternoon, including multiple mattresses, loose carpet, two fridges, furniture, a jacuzzi, kitchen sink, water heater, washing machine, and car bumper.
“It’s getting worse and worse and worse,” said lifelong resident Angel Quintero, who lives down the street from the trash pile that he said started to form about a year ago.
He’s mad about the illegal dumping and doesn’t know why it hasn’t been cleaned up while some other dump sites have.
Quintero said he didn’t have a message for people dumping in his neighborhood because “these are the people that just don’t care – they don’t care.”
How to report illegal dumping to Fresno sheriff
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office announced this week that it will be cracking down on illegal trash dumping.
White said he reached out to Sheriff Margaret Mims about the issue and a new partnership between their departments was formed to tackle the problem.
Illegal dumping has been an ongoing problem for years, but now the sheriff’s agricultural crimes task force will be focusing on it more, sheriff spokesperson Tony Botti said.
Previously, he said, the Sheriff’s Office hoped to get calls reporting violators, but is now taking a more proactive stance “to try and curb this filthy crime.”
The public works department earmarked about $150,000 over three years to help the Sheriff’s Office with that, Botti said.
“If you witness trash dumping in progress, please report it right away,” Botti said. “If you can safely do so, get descriptions of the suspects, their vehicles and license plates. Snap photos if you are able. Make your report to sheriff’s dispatchers at 559-600-3111. You can email your photos to agcrimes@fresnosheriff.org.”
How to report trash along roads and on private property
Trash piles where no one is around should be reported to the public works department, not the Sheriff’s Office, Botti said.
Information is on the public works department’s website, or people can call the road maintenance office at 559-600-4240 or email rdmaint@fresnocountyca.gov, Querin said.
Querin said his department only picks up trash along roads if it poses a hazard to the traveling public.
“Public Works has a lengthy list of locations where there is trash and workers are trying to clean up each spot as quickly as possible,” Botti said.
Trash dumps on private property should be reported to code enforcement. Complaint forms and more information is online: Fresno County, 559-600-4550, and ZoningEnforcement2@fresnocountyca.gov; and City of Fresno, FresGO app, 3-1-1, and 559-621-8400.
Who is dumping and where?
Botti said most of the trash along roads appears to be drive-by dumping from vehicles and not homeless encampments.
This drive-by dumping is a more serious problem than litter from homeless, White said.
Sheriff deputies recently arrested a man who they caught in the act of dumping household appliances on the side of a county road.
“Those who litter will be prosecuted under the fullest extent of the law and may face fines and cleanup fees,” Botti said.
Sheriff detectives are looking for addresses and names in the dumped trash, Querin said.
White said illegal dumping is happening along county roads just outside the Fresno metro area in all directions from the city. He named Riverdale, Caruthers and Del Rey south of Fresno as a few of the hot spots.
Botti said there’s also a lot of illegal dumping being reported just west of Highway 99 and just north of Highway 180 outside the Fresno city limits.
Some of the dumping appears to be by people hired by residents to haul away trash, Botti said, who then illegally dump it instead of taking it to the county landfill.
How to take trash to county landfill on American Avenue
Fresno County’s landfill is in Kerman, at 18950 W. American Ave., about four miles west of Madera Avenue (Highway 145).
White said most trash can be disposed of for a rate of about $10 per load.
More information about the cost per load is on the county’s website. The public works department has a number of other resources, including household hazardous waste removal, and recycling used tires and vehicle oil.
There are other private transfer and recycling stations across the county, including in Fresno, Shaver Lake and Kettleman City.
This story was originally published May 1, 2021 at 9:00 AM.
