A new campaign in New Haven is urging residents not to illegally dump bulk items in the Fair Haven section of the city.
“I usually try to link a bulk pile to a house, or a name.”
When it comes to bulk trash, Cynthia Rivera is an illegal dumping detective.
“Luckily, I found the number and gave them a call and they said ‘how’d you know?’ And I said, ‘the trash talks!’” Rivera said.
She's a supervisor in New Haven’s Department of Public Works, in the Public Spaces Department. Rivera issues warnings and fines for illegal dumping around the city. The most common item she finds are tires.
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“It’s like every day I can find, I can say, like 20 tires," Rivera said.
The Fair Haven neighborhood tends to see more dumping than in other parts of the city because of more industrial and vacant spaces.
She keeps a list of addresses where trash has been dumped for her team to come back and clean it up.
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There’s a new campaign in the city: Fair Haven. Clean Haven. Great Haven. The goal is to remind people that tires, and other bulk trash, can go to the city transfer station for free.
“They can bring tires to the transfer station, they can bring mattresses to the transfer station, they can bring electronics to the transfer station. They can just give us a call,” she said.
All you need is a city ID, and everyone gets eight visits a year. There are no more coupon books, city employees just scan IDs with a New Haven address.
And if the city collects regular household trash from a home, residents can call and schedule a bulk curbside pickup.
The awareness campaign was the idea of David Salinas.
“I saw people throw stuff out the window and I turned around and looked at the area, and it just looks like trash. It looks poorly so it’s treated poorly,” Salinas said.
He is the owner of District and Digital Surgeons. He came up with the idea after picking up trash along State and James streets for years.
“People deserve to see aesthetically nice things, no matter where they are, no matter what they’re doing for work. And I feel like that’s for the whole community, and I just want to see that happen in the area," Salinas said.
New Haven Fire Department Chief John Alston said electronics can also go to the transfer station, but damaged electronics can be dangerous and may overheat.
“It’s aftermarket. It’s when they buy the wrong chargers, if you will. Just because a charger fits into a device doesn’t make it the right charger for that device,” Alston said, adding that the chemistry in the battery of devices may get altered, leading to potential overheating in a landfill.
He also showed how they may have to respond if damaged electric vehicle components ignite. The department now has fire blankets to help put out the fire quickly.
“You can put water on them, it’s just not going to go out right away,” Alston said.
So, the message is to take care of your electronics while you have them, and dispose of them and your bulk trash properly, or you might have to pay if Rivera’s team finds out.
“I usually give them a warning with two days. If they don’t clean it up, it’s going to be $250 a day," Rivera said.
