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Public Trash Cans Aren't For Your Home Garbage, Alderman Warns

By Linze Rice | April 17, 2017 5:59am
 Personal garbage bags go in the dumpster, not public trash cans, officials said.
Personal garbage bags go in the dumpster, not public trash cans, officials said.
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DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser

EDGEWATER — Edgewater Ald. Harry Osterman (48th) is reminding residents that when it comes time to throw away personal trash from their homes they should use the black garbage carts or dumpsters in their alleys, not public waste bins on the sidewalk.

The technically illegal practice is a version of "fly dumping" and leads to stuffed garbage cans in business districts that spill over and cause litter, he said. 

The city's Department of Public Health website said it works with police to "aggressively prosecute" the dumping, with penalties of at least $1,500 for the first offense, up to six months in jail or up to 200 hours of community service. 

"In addition, their vehicles are quickly impounded at the owner's expense," according to the city.

Air conditioners, couches and Christmas trees are among the common items that people place in alleys in the hope a scrapper of passerby may scoop them up.

But when it comes to tossing that banana peel and diaper-stuffed plastic bag, look to your own garbage carts or dumpsters, not the public ones.