TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Have you noticed trash in your neighborhoods? Toledo city leaders say illegal dumping is worse than they've seen it in years.
Monday night, city leaders talked about creating a task force.
City council members Toledo is lacking enforcement and investigation for this illegal dumping.
Rubber is an expensive material to recycle and the Ohio EPA provides the city with grant money but it's not enough to keep up with how many are being dropped off in alleyways.
So far this year, more than 600 tires have been picked up off our streets. Last year city leaders recycled 9000 tires.
They're asking you take advantage of the 12 recycling events throughout the season for tires, or free dump days at the Hoffman road landfill and if you do see someone illegal dumping, get their license plate number and report it to Engage Toledo.
You can remain anonymous.
"I've never seen illegal dumping as bad as this season, it's so rampant and it's just everywhere that we all need to come together as a task force, which we talked about earlier. Having this task force group and figure out a plan of action on how to address illegal dumping. We have to stand up and say, no more piles in our neighborhoods, we are tired of it. And we are going to prosecute people who do this, and we are going to fine them or put them in jail," said Dennis Kennedy, the Code Enforcement Acting Commissioner
City leaders are working with Toledo Police on this.
Officers can pull over someone with more than 10 tires in a pickup truck. To have that many tires in your vehicle, you have to be a licensed tire hauler, and there are only three in Northwest Ohio.
