Of the many insults that come with living in one of the highest-taxed regions in the country, where indictments of public officials on corruption charges seem almost commonplace, news last week of a law enforcement effort called “Operation Pay Dirt” only added to an already long list of red flags about life on this island. READ
Tag: illegal dumping
Property owners in Calverton, Baiting Hollow, Flanders and Greenport were among the victims of an illegal dumping ring that advertised “free screened clean fill” in places like Craigslist. But ultimately the victims were left with solid waste that often contained toxic and acutely hazardous materials like arsenic, lead and mercury. READ
Garbage dumped in the woods. (Tim Gannon file photo)
Town Board members want local businesses to participate in an Adopt-a-Road program to clean up litter along town roads.
Osborn Avenue resident Christine Doubrava, who has been picking up litter in her neighborhood for years, told the board at last week’s work session that the type of garbage she’s finding on the streets is changing.
“I’m willing to pick up beer bottles, cigarette packs and so on, but what’s troubling me this year is that it’s transformed, and it’s no longer litter. It’s debris and garbage,” she said.
Ms. Doubrava showed board members some samples of the plastic foam, industrial garbage and packing papers she’s more frequently finding on the roadsides.
“It’s from one end of the road to the other,” she said.
Ms. Doubrava said she’s spoken to Highway Superintendent George Woodson as well as Crown Sanitation, which has a recycling facility on Youngs Avenue, and both were very receptive.
“We clean up an area one week and the next week it’s the same,” Mr. Woodson said at the work session.
Supervisor Sean Walter suggested sending a letter to area businesses urging them to participate in an Adopt-a-Road program that would allow a sign with the company’s name on it.
“Maybe we make the sign a little bit bigger, a little bit nicer, if we can get the businesses to adopt the highways,” Mr. Walter said. “That sign could be worth something, and they’d probably pay people to clean the road.”
Mr. Walter said his office and Mr. Woodson can coordinate to establish the program.