No Dumping!
Anyone who has been to Livingston’s Senior/ Community Center likely knows of the issue we are about to discuss. The littering behind the building has once again gotten out of control.
We have written about this exact issue, in this exact location, for years. At the most recent Township Council meeting, Council member Michael Vieira said the problem persists.
“Please stop dumping your garbage (at the Senior/Community Center). It was supposed to be for recycling. Now we’re having mattresses and all kinds of non-recyclable things being dropped off,” Vieira said. “It’s a dump over there, and, unfortunately, our DPW has to clean it. It’s going to come to the point where the town may have to just get rid of everything except on electronic recycling day.”
People (Residents? Business owners? Others who live outside of town?) are dropping off electronic and bulk items behind the property where it is illegal to do so and forcing town employees to deal with the mess. Still.
There are very clear signs indicating that this dumping is illegal, as well as mentioning a $2,000 fine that would be incurred for those caught doing so. It is worth noting, too, that another sign mentions that the area is now under 24-hour surveillance, so anyone caught illegally dumping should be fairly easy to track down.
You may remember that we last wrote about this last year. We also wrote about it in 2023. Not much has changed in the ensuing years, despite the fact that the town has devoted time and money to rectifying the problem. Specifically, the town has added signage and cameras to the area in order to deter would-be polluters. Together, they were supposed to warn people not to illegally dump their refuse, and allow officials to identify those who still chose not to follow the rules so they could be fined. Unfortunately, the threatened fines are either not being enforced or are not a large enough penalty, because nothing appears to have changed at the site in the past year. It remains an eyesore and hazard at one of our town’s most used buildings.
We have seen the site ourselves on several occasions, and are always shocked to witness just how bad the littering situation has become. We have seen piles of electronics, large bulk items, cardboard, and plastic bags full of leaves at the times we were there, all scattered about carelessly and abandoned for others to deal with. It was, frankly, infuriating to see just how negligent some people can be.
To those in town continually choosing to dump their trash where it does not belong, making it someone else’s problem, we have just one question: What is your problem? Why don’t you think the rules apply to you?
Livingston has set specific days for trash, bulk, leaves, and recycling pickup, and the town and county each have electronic recycling dates throughout the year. If you cannot wait until the appropriate time to dispose of your items, and do not wish to hire a private service to handle it instead, then you should expect to pay some money as a result of your brazen carelessness.
When we first wrote about this matter in 2023, we encouraged the town to invest in a 24/7 camera to survey the area, and enforce fines to all who illegally dump their trash, recycling, items and lawn waste at our Senior/Community Center. There is now signage explaining the fines for those in violation, as well as notice of the video surveillance (now we just need to stop the buses from parking in front of the cameras, obscuring the view of the offenders).
“There are cameras over there,” Vieira said at last week’s meeting, “so we will enforce the fines if you get caught.”
We certainly hope to see those fines enforced, so that the recycling area looks less like a flat out dump at a busy building in our town.
