CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) The litter enforcement officer in Chester County says he caught a man illegally dumping more than 1500 pounds of materials from a demolished home. TJ Martin says he works hard to keep Chester clean, which is what makes this case especially frustrating.
“I went out there and what I found was actually approximately about 10 dump-truck loads of construction material from a house that likely had been torn down.”
Days after Martin discovered the first site, he says he caught a truck driver dumping materials at a second location. The driver told Martin that he was instructed to dump the materials by the contractor hired to tear the house down. Martin says he was able to track down the culprit through a demolition permit.
“The truck driver was very cooperative. He gave us the information,” said Martin.
In total, more than 500 pounds was dumped at three separate locations. A judge fined the man $2,500 and instructed him to clean up the sites. The man cleaned up two of the sites, but the owner of one property had already cleaned up the litter himself.
Martin is hoping a grant from Palmetto Pride will help catch even more litters. The $3,900 grant will help pay for cameras and litter sticks.
