1,800 pounds of illegally dumped trash covered a Pierce County road. One man cleared it
Someone dumped a huge load of trash on a Key Peninsula street last week, blocking the road in both directions.
At about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, Pierce County Planning and Public Works received a report of illegal dumping on 144th Street Northwest, according to Anne Radford, a spokesperson for Pierce County.
The road is known as “Powerline Road” to residents.
Andrea Enge wrote in a Key Peninsula Facebook group that she drove up to the trash as a white van was driving away.
She took pictures of the trash, which she said included burned garbage, needles, tires, what appeared to be homemade bongs, and human feces.
Kenneth Deal, a maintenance worker with the county’s Maintenance and Operations Division, arrived at the site at about 7:45 p.m. Oct. 1, Radford told the Gateway.
“Both lanes of the two-lane road had residential garbage covering them, making the road impassable,” Radford said. “Items included a mattress, sink, car parts, full garbage bags, and household items.”
Deal first moved items from the eastbound lane to the westbound lane, which had more garbage, to make the eastbound lane passable for motorists while he worked, Radford said.
“Kenneth moved about half of the 1,800 pounds of waste into a 6-foot by 12-foot trailer, filling it,” Radford said.
Then he moved the other half onto the shoulder of the road, so he could reopen the westbound lane.
Another Pierce County maintenance technician picked up the second half of the garbage Monday, Oct. 2, and all items were taken to the Purdy Transfer Station for disposal, Radford said.
Illegal dumping is common along roads on the Key Peninsula that are isolated, unlit, less traveled, and have turnouts or wide shoulders, according to Rob Bryson, the county’s maintenance supervisor at the West County Maintenance Facility in Purdy.
He said they respond to an average of one site with illegal dumping every other day. It’s usually on the side of the road, not in the middle of it like the one Oct. 1.
“On Key Peninsula, illegal dumping is made up mostly of residential garbage,” he said. “We do not see many sites with construction debris or garbage from businesses. We respond to reports of an abandoned boat along the road about once a month and sites with dumped roofing materials about two or three times a year.”
Rocky Creek Road Northwest, Cornwall Road Northwest, and 144th Street Northwest and Peacock Hill Road Northwest are all roads they check often, Bryson said.
“When we receive a report of illegal dumping, we send a flatbed truck with a trailer,” he said. “If the quantity of garbage is too much for that equipment, we send a backhoe and dump truck.”
The county is seeing an increase in illegal dumping, according to Road Maintenance Superintendent Brenen Profitt.
“Illegal dumping can create hazards for motorists and active transportation users and can have negative impacts on our environment,” Profitt said. “We respond countywide to illegal dumping to keep our communities safe and clean. It was important to respond quickly Sunday night, as illegal dumping in the road creates a safety hazard for motorists.”
Profitt also said: “in an effort to reduce illegal dumping, we may install gates or ecology blocks to restrict access to county-owned properties that allow us to access flood risk reduction infrastructure such as levees or county-owned properties that are owned in anticipation of future road projects.”
You can report illegal dumping via www.PierceCountyWa.gov/Works.
This story was originally published October 8, 2023 at 3:00 AM.
