CITIZENS ASKED TO SHARE CONCERNS AT ILLEGAL DUMPING FORUMS

MEDIA CONTACT:  Jeff Geerts at (515) 281-8176 or [log in to unmask]

DES MOINES – The DNR is hosting three forums across Iowa to gather input 
from citizens, local governments and businesses about how illegal dumping 
and tire piles have impacted their communities. The forum will also focus on 
recommendations for policies and practices to prevent illegal dumping and 
tire stockpiles. This information will help the department craft a new 
statewide effort to fight these problems.

The public is invited to attend any of the forums. The first will be held in 
Des Moines July 17 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Wallace State Office 
Building, Fourth Floor Conference Room, 502 E 9th St. The second will be 
held the evening of July 17 in Cedar Rapids at the National Czech and Slovak 
Museum and Library at 30 16th Avenue SW from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The third forum will be broadcast July 18 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. over 
the Iowa Communications Network from an origination site in Atlantic, Iowa. 
Citizens can participate at the Atlantic Middle School, Room 109, 1100 Linn 
St, Atlantic, or attend one of six other meeting sites: Albia High School, 
Room 302, 503 B Avenue East, Albia; Great River Area Education Agency, 3601 
West Avenue, Burlington; DMACC – Carroll Campus, Room 144, 906 North Grant 
Road, Carroll; Eastern Iowa Community College, Room 300, Kahl Educational 
Center, 326 West 3rd Street, Davenport; University of Dubuque, Jackaline 
Baldwin Dunlap Technology Center Room T201, 2000 University Avenue, Dubuque; 
or North Iowa Area Community College, Activity Center Room 106, 500 College 
Drive, Mason City.

For more than a decade the DNR has partnered with local governments and 
like-minded organizations to curb this blight on property and communities, 
spending hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on cleanup and 
enforcement activities. Surveys and focus groups reveal that indifference 
and the unlikelihood of getting caught are the chief reasons people 
illegally dump tires, appliances, construction and demolition waste, and 
even hazardous chemicals. Reporting, enforcement, and publicized convictions 
are vital to curbing illegal dumping or stockpiling of tires.

“Iowa governments are faced with a lack of adequate funding for a concerted 
coordinated effort to prevent and clean up illegal dumping and tire 
stockpiles.” said Jeff Geerts, program planner for the Environmental 
Services Division of the DNR. “Yet illegal dumping has serious effects on 
our quality of life. We need everyone aware of the problem and willing to 
help solve it. Attending these forums, telling their stories, and helping us 
with planning will build commitment to solutions.”

For more information about remedying illegal dumping in Iowa, go to 
www.iowadnr.gov/waste/sw/illdump.html.

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