Pasco Launches Campaign To Clean Up County

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL – In the hopes of curbing the widespread illegal dumping occurring throughout Pasco County, the Pasco government has launched a Be #PascoProud: Report Illegal Dumping campaign.

The purpose of the campaign, said Tambrey Laine of the county’s media relations department, is to empower residents to be part of the solution.

Because Pasco County is so spread out and has so many rural areas, people who don’t want to pay to dispose of items at county landfills or transfer station have been dumping old tires, appliances and mattresses at the end of rural roads, in woods and even parking lots that have donation bins.

Last year the county’s road and bridge department collected about 1,700 illegally dumped tires along Pasco’s roadways.

And during last year’s Great American Cleanup in Pasco County, 516 volunteers collected 28.13 tons of trash along county roads. Volunteers picked up another 25 tons of trash from county shorelines during the annual Coastal Cleanup.

“We’ve seen this happen all over the county,” Keep Pasco Beautiful coordinator Kristen King said. “Someone throws out a couple of tires and, the next thing you know, the area is a dump site.”

Not only are these makeshift dump sites unsightly, they negatively impact the environment and cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars every year to clean up, Laine noted.

Additionally, illegal dumping is a crime in Pasco County. Those caught illegally dumping in Pasco County can be fined $500 per day, per item - plus possible cleanup costs.

The campaign is urging all residents to take part in keeping Pasco County clean by clicking on Report Illegal Dumping on the MyPasco App, emailing reports of dump sites to RIDPasco@pascocountyfl.net or calling (727) 847-2411.

Residents can also post photos of dump sites on the Report Illegal Dumping website or on social media using the hashtags #PascoProud and #RIDPasco.

Image via Pasco County