Illegal dumping on the rise in Henderson County

HENDERSON, Ky (WEHT) – Just past the twin bridges in Henderson, you may notice heaps of debris let on Green River 1 Road. This is just one of the illegal dumping incidents Henderson County has run into.

Henderson County Solid Waste Coordinator Eric Higgs says the county will receive five calls a week about illegal dumping in Henderson. He says four of those calls will be about trash left on Green River 1 specifically.

“It’s very disheartening,” says Higgs. “Number one, because we have to spend the manpower to come pick it up. Number two, it makes the community trashy looking, and I just wish people would take pride in their community and not do stuff like this.”

Higgs says he patrols the road every week and constantly finds trash and debris. Illegally dumping is an offense that carries weight within Henderson.

“If you’re caught illegally dumping in Henderson County, you can get up to a $500 fine and up to a year in jail.”

Meanwhile, Higgs says county residents are eligible to pay between $40 and $60 per ton of debris and residents can drop off household trash for free. Over the past several months, Higgs says the fees to dump trash and debris has remained about the same.

One reason Higgs believes illegal dumping has been an issue is because some people don’t want to spend their money to get rid of trash.

“I truly believe that this is people pocketing other people’s money, and instead of taking it to the landfill like they’re supposed to be doing, they’re dumping it off on the county road that way they can keep the money.”

For those who have contractors working on a home or other structures, Higgs offers the following advice:

“If you’re a citizen, and you’re getting a new roof put on your house, make sure you get a weight ticket from whoever hauls it off to show that they actually took it to the landfill and not just keeping your money and disposing of your roofing on a county road somewhere.”