Illegal Dumping Along the Bluffs

On Oct 11, 2008 two local residents were walking in the woods of the bluffs around the Battle Creek neighborhood. They walked down the bluffs and by the large pipe leading to the head station along Hwy 61 and Pt. Douglas Road. There they were shocked to find PILES of electronic equipment discarded - hundreds of computers, keyboards, televisions, radios, and other electronic items such as fax machines. Many were damaged and lying around, some were loaded in boxes. The residents suspect that people are using this location as an illegal dump, or thieves are using it to unload what they have stolen after taking what they want, or that some recycler was not doing their job of removing materials but was just dumping there. Further down the way from this site, the residents found another dumping ground by an abandoned house. At this location there were hundreds of Yellow Pages books that had been dumped instead of being delivered. Other people had apparently been using this location for a garbage dump, too.
The residents called the Pioneer Press and a reporter went out there and agreed it was appalling and one of the spookiest things he had ever seen. He did some investigating and made some calls. The county purchased the abandoned house and property last spring for $276,000. Since the 11th, the county has started tearing down the house with the goal of turning the property into parkland along the bluffs.

The residents had also reported the dumping to the county who said that the dumping had all happened within the previous 3 weeks. Also, they knew about all the Yellow Books and garbage at end of road. They were going to have all of this removed at the same time the house was demolished. Then, there will be a fence/gate so that no one can even drive on the road. There will only be room for a truck to get to the head station. That way no one can even get in to dump. It will eventually all turn wild. In the long run, the county also wants to remove the asphalt of the old road in this area.

We all know that there are people who use parts of Battle Creek Park as their own personal dump site. Some residents have been such good neighbors that they have collected this stuff and taken it to be properly disposed of. But you can always call the City to get it removed (651.266.8989).

But as residents, you should know that you need to hire your own garbage haulers. If you want to arrange with your neighbors to do this together, that is a good thing. But we cannot have toxic stuff dumped in our natural areas!! Every year we do a Community Clean-up so there is no excuse for dumping in the woods. In addition, for electronics, every retailer who sells this stuff is supposed to take it back for recycling for free, so again, no excuses.

Here’s what the resident who found this mess had to say…“People are treating our natural resources in Battle Creek with disdain and harming the environment and what a message that speaks about the character of people who would stoop to such a thing. SHAME ON THEM. I don't care what the excuse is. SHAME ON THEM. Lazy stupidity and selfishness on their part, because it is not difficult to get rid of any of these items if you make a few phone calls or read your community newspaper. Yes, some of these things cost money to get rid of, but throwing them in the bluffs costs more money in taxes than just taking care of it the right way, not to mention the future legacy of pollution and mess we are leaving the community and the children.”