Police crack down on upsetting criminal trend using strategically placed cameras: 'We will continue to monitor'
Police in Russellville, Alabama, have made strides against illegal dumping with the help of video surveillance, according to News 19.
With cameras in strategic locations throughout the city, authorities wasted no time cracking down on offenders. One 49-year-old resident, Cirilo Contreras Nunes, was arrested for criminal littering — a Class B misdemeanor offense in the state — on the first day the cameras were operational.
Criminal littering, illegal dumping, and fly-tipping (a U.K. term) are different names for a serious act affecting communities worldwide. It goes beyond discarding items like small food wrappers (which is bad in itself), as perpetrators often leave larger quantities of waste, from construction debris to piles of pest-attracting tires.
One family in British Columbia left close to "1,000 pounds of used diapers" in a backcountry forest. The smell from all that fecal matter isn't inviting to people, but flies and other pests love it.
Even when placed where it should be, trash is a huge global problem because there's too much of it. Overflowing landfills are major contributors to carbon and methane pollution in the atmosphere. Methane is 28 times more potent than CO2 in terms of warming Earth (pound for pound), according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
As a result, the planet continues to overheat, producing harsher weather patterns that include heatwaves and intense rainstorms.
Dumped plastic often seeps into oceans, where it further breaks down into microplastics and nanoplastics that can enter the human body. So, imagine the impact when trash ends up in parks or on sidewalks right outside houses or businesses.
Video surveillance has helped catch criminal litterers beyond Alabama. Cameras captured someone dumping waste in the backwaters of Kochi, India, an act that can contaminate drinking water, kill aquatic life, and increase the risk of illness. A resident recorded a septic truck dumping waste into a sewage system and sent the video to the municipal utility district.
Obtaining proof can lead to another deterrent to waste: fines and charges. News 19 reported that the first conviction for criminal littering in Alabama carries a fine of up to $500. Two men will pay a combined $15,000 for illegally dumping construction debris in Long Island.
"We will continue to monitor known dumping areas and enforce city and state laws to help keep Russellville clean and safe," the Russellville Police Department told News 19. Anyone can take local action by recycling, picking up litter, and reporting those who dump trash in unauthorized areas.
Should states be allowed to ban plastic items from businesses?
Definitely
No way
Depends on the item
I'm not sure
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
a minute ago
- CBS News
Rachel Morin's mother reflects 2 years after daughter was found murdered off Maryland trail
Patty Morin remembers the moment she learned that her daughter, Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five, was found dead off a popular Harford County walking trail. Wednesday marked two years since the 37-year-old's body was found brutally murdered in a drainage culvert along the Ma & Pa Trail on August 6, 2023. "I'll never forget the words," Patty Morin told WJZ. "It's been two years, but he said, and I quote, 'Mrs. Morin, this is Det. Goldin. There's no easy way to tell you this, but we found your daughter's body.'" Victor Martinez-Hernandez, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was convicted of Morin's murder. He will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, August 11, at the Harford County Circuit Court. Patty Morin says she looks forward to the sentencing, so her daughter's killer can get what he deserves, and her family can move forward, celebrating Rachel Morin the way she deserves. "She wasn't a perfect person, but she was a lovely person," Patty Morin said. "She was very kind and gentle, very loving, and she genuinely cared about other people." Martinez-Hernandez will not be deported back to his home country of El Salvador, but rather fulfill his sentence in Maryland. For the past two years, Patty Morin has been consumed by the death of her daughter. She questions how Rachel Morin became the victim of a horrific attack. "These last two years have been, for lack of a better word, a journey from those moments of disbelief that something like this could happen, to questions about what happened," Morin said. On August 5, 2023, Rachel Morin was reported missing by her children and her boyfriend after she went for a jog on the trail and never returned. Her vehicle was located at the trailhead, and she was found off the trail, raped and murdered. The murder trial in April revealed Rachel Morin was texting with her children until 7:04 p.m. on August 5, 2023, and was then never heard from again. "It shook the community. I think this crime really shook the community," said Harford County State's Attorney Alison Healey, who led the prosecution against Martinez-Hernandez, an El Salvador native. Martinez-Hernandez was arrested 10 months later, in June 2024, at a bar in Oklahoma. Martínez-Hernández's DNA was found on nearly every piece of evidence collected at the murder scene, and it took a jury less than an hour to find him guilty of Morin's rape and murder. "Our first and only goal in this whole case was to get justice for Rachel and for her family," Healey said. "For her children, her siblings, for her mom, for everybody who loved and cared about her. So at this point, we just want to make sure we get the justice she deserves for this horrific crime."
CNN
a minute ago
- CNN
Video: Nicaraguan migrant narrowly outruns ICE, barricades himself at home
Fontana resident Robert Reyes, his three children, his wife and mother-in-law have remained inside their apartment after security cameras captured the moment Reyes sprinted through his apartment door just moments before a California Border Patrol agent could apprehend him. CNN is trying to verify the status of the case with authorities in California.
CBS News
a minute ago
- CBS News
Mom honors slain son's legacy, announces Dominic Paul Maron Ferrell Foundation at Miami memorial
The mother of a teen who was fatally stabbed while he slept at his dad's Brickell condo back in June publicly honored her son's life and legacy Wednesday afternoon shortly before a memorial Mass at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Miami. Christine Maron said of her son Dominic Ferrel, "His death will not overshadow the love, light, and joy he brought to each and every one of us." Ferrell, 17, was killed in an unprovoked attack on June 8. Authorities said the suspect, identified as 26-year-old Kyrill Kehl, entered the building without a key fob and targeted the apartment at random. The two did not know each other. The memorial service provided an opportunity for the Miami community to say goodbye to Ferrell, who lived in the city for the past four years. His formal funeral services were previously held in California. In her remarks, Maron announced the launch of the Dominic Paul Maron Ferrell Foundation. The foundation will award four annual scholarships to students who demonstrate the qualities she said defined her son: empathy, kindness, respect, academic achievement, and sportsmanship. The Dominic Paul Maron Ferrell Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to one eighth-grade student at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School, as well as graduating seniors at Immaculata-La Salle High School, Las Lomas High School and Miami Beach Senior High School. "This vision will be carried forward by Dominic's siblings—Bianca, Luca, and Dante," she said. "His legacy will outlive us all, helping others realize the promise of a better tomorrow." Community gathers to mourn, remember Family, friends and community members gathered at the church in The Roads neighborhood for the 5 p.m. service. Dominic was a former student of Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School and most recently attended Miami Beach Senior High, where he was known for his kindness and athleticism.
