Educating and Engaging the Public in Annual Clean Up Day

State: CA Type: Promising Practice Year: 2019

Monterey County, located on California's central coast, is home to the one of the nation's largest agricultural producers, amounting to nearly $5 billion in annual crop and livestock gross value. The county is also a tourist destination that attracts nearly 4.5 million visitors annually to its dramatic coastline and marine sanctuary. These and other activities compete within an environmentally sensitive region populated by 435,000 residents who are relatively young (46% of residents are under age 30); 15% of the population lives under the Federal Poverty Level.

EHB's specialists and team members seek to improve land and water environmental quality through education methods, rather than through punitive methods. With that spirit, the Bureau heavily publicizes Earth Day each April to educate the public about the health and safety hazards of illegal dumping, and to engage the public in remediation activities.

The EHB is a member of the Monterey County Illegal Dumping and Litter Abatement Task Force of Monterey County, along with other county departments (Sheriff, Public Works, Water Resources Agency, and Board of Supervisors' Offices), Caltrans District 5 Transportation Agency of Monterey County, Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority, Monterey Regional Waste Management District, Republic Services of Salinas, Tri Cities Disposal, Waste Management Inc., and other concerned organizations (agriculture and tourism businesses, chambers of commerce). The Task Force, established in 1996, by the Monterey County Board of supervisors, combines the resources of these stakeholders together to recommend strategies that will help to reduce the incidence of illegal dumping and littering by producing and developing educational materials, providing research and networking with state task forces to identify underlying causes of illegal dumping, identify dumping hot spots,” and develop successful mitigation strategies.

Illegal dumping is everyone's problem. Illegal dumping along roadways, near creeks and in parks, is far from just an eyesore: dumped appliances, tires, electronic equipment, and other rubbish may contain dangerous hazardous materials and chemicals that can cause fire; contaminate beaches, water sources, and agricultural field crops; and cause physical injury for hikers, pedestrians, and park visitors. Illegal dumping threatens human health and safety by attracting and harboring disease transmitting vectors such as mosquitoes, flies, and rats that carry disease. As one of the nation's largest agricultural regions and a world class tourist destination, littering and illegal dumping in Monterey County can cause great financial impacts on the area's two largest industries. Taxpaying residents, agencies, and concerned organizations bear the heavy price to investigate dump sites and restore environmental safety. Additional consequences of environmental contamination are reduced food safety, property values, and quality of life.

The goal of Monterey County Health Department's Environmental Health Bureau (EHB) Illegal dumping awareness campaign through partnership with members of the Monterey County Illegal Dumping and Litter Abatement Task Force (IDLATF), is to reduce solid waste that is disposed in locations other than permitted disposal facilities such as a land fill or transfer station. The objectives include:

Providing ongoing awareness of illegal dumping hazards, and education and incentives (free disposal vouchers) to encourage proper disposal methods,
Capitalize on the month of April and on Earth Day specifically to promote community cleanup events, including organizing materials and supplies,
Publicize proper low cost/no cost solid waste handling for tires, mattresses, used needles and unused medications, household chemicals, and electronics, and promote landfill diversion via recycling and reuse,
With the Illegal Dumping & Litter Abatement Task Force (IDLATF), create strategic plans for promoting inter-agency and community partnerships to create strategic plans, promote public engagement, and anticipate emerging issues to reduce illegal dumping.

The annual Monterey County Clean-Up Day (Earth Day) was established and coordinated as the focal event to promote community involvement and cleanup of various county locations by the EHB, who's staff reach out to IDALATF members for input and available resources. Planning begins about six months before the event. The April 2018 planning included the creation of a new EHB illegal dumping webpage featuring illegal dumping reporting, solid waste and recycling locations, proper medical and household hazardous waste disposal, and Clean-Up event opportunities. A Clean-Up Day coordination packet developed along with other outreach materials for use at tabling events held two weeks prior to the April 2018 Clean-Up Day, in five county locations.

While originally established as an advisory group in 1996, IDALATF focused on law enforcement efforts that could not be sustained due to higher level enforcement concerns. The Task force then determined in 2002 that the focus should be on proactive measures to address illegal dumping and litter abatement instead of the original enforcement approach. The clean-up day event was designed to coincide with Earth Day and over the years it has grown with increasing stakeholder participation and has now expanded to an Earth Month where the task force promotes month long clean up events with the ultimate and established goal to promote clean up event all year long. Together, EHB and IDALATF have achieved these milestones:

Hosting the Annual Monterey County Clean-Up Day Events and raise awareness on Earth Day month
Hosting workshops for the Monterey County Farm Bureau and Grower-Shipper Association
Increasing greater stakeholder participation
Inviting a series of guest speakers from other agencies to IDALATF meetings
Developing an illegal dumping webpage and IDALATF webpage on the Monterey County website.
Providing more outreach to the community.
Planning a merger with the Monterey Peninsula Illegal Dumping Taskforce.
Promoting the success of the task force at the 2018 Cal-Recycle technical training event held in Monterey CA.

Examples of factors that have led to Clean-Up successes are:

Establishing a strategic plan with the goal in mind
Supportive IDALATF members and leadership who create a welcome environment that encourages progressive discussion
Extending membership invitations to join the working group
The use of credible, relatable representation from the public and private agencies, community members, solid waste haulers, landfill operators, and government agencies
Open communication during and outside of IDALATF meetings: public presentations of success
Support from local government entities and local politicians
Funding support for the voucher program by the local landfill operations
Extensive new media through press releases and proclamations by cities and county of Earth Month

Examples of factors that have led to Clean-Up successes are:

Establishing a strategic plan with the goal in mind
Supportive IDALATF members and leadership who create a welcome environment that encourages progressive discussion
Extending membership invitations to join the working group
The use of credible, relatable representation from the public and private agencies, community members, solid waste haulers, landfill operators, and government agencies
Open communication during and outside of IDALATF meetings: public presentations of success
Support from local government entities and local politicians
Funding support for the voucher program by the local landfill operations
Extensive new media through press releases and proclamations by cities and county of Earth Month
Celebrating successful efforts

Applicable websites are:

www.mtyhd.org/disposal-coupon-program

www.mtyhd.org/illegaldumping

www.mtyhd.org/propertrashdisposal

www.mtyhd.org/reportillegaldumping

www.mtyhd.org/illegaldumpingtaskforce

http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/government/departments-a-h/health/environmental-health/solid-waste-management/earth-day-events

IDALATF and the annual Clean-Up events that are hosted by the EHB are existing practices to identify and reduce illegal dumping with a focus of protecting the environment and public health. By partnering with more public agencies and community partners, we have become more effective with each passing year, thereby better meeting the needs of our county's communities.

The IDALATF, collaborating with the County of Monterey, Monterey Regional Waste Management District, and the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority originated the Disposal Voucher Program to assist victims of illegal dumping. The disposal voucher provides funding for free disposal of illegal dumped material collected by and removed by property owners who are victims of illegal dumping or from clean up events sponsored by organizations cleaning up roadways, parks, waterways or neighborhoods, and serves as a public outreach incentive. Non-profits and community members are able to host Clean-Up events without paying disposal fees which the task force determined was the biggest deterrent in organization of clean-up activities.

The EPA and its state and territorial partners have developed a variety of cleanup programs to assess and, where necessary, clean up accidents, spills, leaks, and improper disposal and handling of hazardous materials and wastes. The EPA encourages the involvement of communities and concerned citizens and provides information on community involvement initiatives and strategies on its website: https://www.epa.gov/cleanups/cleanups-what-you-can-do

The state of California also maintains an Illegal Dumping and Technical Advisory Committee with resources and information: ???????https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/Search/?q=illegal+dumping

The goal of Monterey County Health Department's Environmental Health Bureau (EHB) Illegal dumping awareness campaign is to reduce solid waste that is disposed in locations other than permitted disposal facilities such as a land fill or transfer station. The objectives include:

providing ongoing awareness of illegal dumping hazards, and education and incentives (free disposal vouchers) to encourage proper disposal methods,
capitalize on the month of April and on Earth Day specifically to promote community cleanup events, including organizing materials and supplies,
publicize proper solid waste disposal for tires, mattresses, used needles and unused medications, household chemicals, and electronics, and promote landfill diversion via recycling and reuse,
with the Illegal Dumping & Litter Abatement Task Force (IDALATF), create strategic plans for promoting inter-agency and community partnerships to create strategic plans, promote public engagement, and anticipate emerging issues to reduce illegal dumping.

The annual Monterey County Clean-Up Day (Earth Day) is hosted by the EHB, who's staff reach out to IDALATF members for input and available resources. Planning begins about six months before the event. The April 2018 planning included the creation of a new EHB illegal dumping webpage featuring illegal dumping reporting, solid waste and recycling locations, proper medical and household hazardous waste disposal, and Clean-Up event opportunities. A Clean-Up Day coordination packet developed along with other outreach materials for use at tabling events held two weeks prior to the April 2018 Clean-Up Day, in five county locations.

Stakeholders other than those described above include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) who benefit from cleanup efforts reducing or eliminating impacts to the Monterey Bay and its wildlife. The Return of the Natives, a community and school based environmental education program dedicated to involving students (kindergarten through university) and the community in native habitat restoration. Both stakeholders and the EHB hosted Clean-Up events on April 21, 2018, combining efforts to clean up a large recreational area.

EHB's Solid Waste Management Services is designated as the county's Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) and is responsible for permitting, ensuring compliance with regulations, and inspecting facilities that handle solid waste, such as open and closed landfills, transfer stations, and compost facilities. EHB's Recycling Resource and Recovery Services Program manages a set of programs that support Monterey County residents, businesses, and visitors' efforts to divert waste from landfills. The EHB staff who conduct solid waste and recycling programs, and who produce annual Clean-Up Day events, are primarily funded through county general funds. The Joint Power Agency (Monterey Regional Waste Management District/Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority) provides funding for solid waste disposal at county landfills through the cleanup disposal voucher provided for each clean up event for trash collected by the volunteers.

The EHB 2018 Clean-Up event during our Earth Month and consisting of Health Department staff was a success, resulting in the collection of more than one half ton of waste additional tonnage of solid waste was collected by other volunteers and task force agency efforts throughout the month of April 2018. The IDALATF reviews all abandoned solid waste reports (provided by Monterey County Public Works) to look for trends in illegally dumped material. The trends provide information about the emerging needs in specific locations.

Primary data are sourced from Monterey County Disposal Voucher Metrics for tonnage of illegal dumped material collected from Clean-Up events and illegal dump sites throughout the year and during April. When disposal vouchers are redeemed at a landfill or transfer station, the tonnage receipt is sent to EHB staff to be documented. Monterey County Public Works issues Abandoned Solid Waste Reports that can be found at www.mtyhd.org/illegaldumpingtaskforce

Examining the Abandoned Solid Waste Reports and other documents that list the amounts and locations of illegally dumped material provides the EHB and IDALATF with important insights to strategies to reduce illegal dumping. Prior to 2017, these reports were not readily available, but using these reports as our new resource tool allows us to focus our attention where it is most needed.

The performance measures used for this model practice are the cleanup activities/metrics reviewed at each IDALATF meeting, the metrics of Clean-Up volunteers and tonnage collected, data from the Abandoned Solid Waste (ASW) Report, and the Disposal Voucher Program metric report. If ASW reports indicate an uptick in specific types of materials being illegally dumped, EHB and IDALATF work to generate specific solutions.

Clean-Up events for the past three fiscal years have resulted in these outcomes:

	FY 15-16	FY 16-17	FY 17-18
# of Volunteers *	732	290	267
Pounds of Waste	12,522	20,508	19,354

*Note that the number of volunteers reflects the number of volunteers at the EHB sponsored cleanup sites and does not include the number of volunteers at other clean up events which may not be tracked during the month of April.

The only modifications for the annual Clean-Up events has been greater community awareness and outreach. Information and resources are updated EHB on our webpages devoted to solid waste and recycling information, disposal vouchers, GIS maps of illegal dumping locations, and a calendar of Clean-Up events. Each year the task force evaluates prior year efforts to strategize for the upcoming annual event and to propose improvements or adjustments to increase stakeholder and volunteer participation.

Clean-Up Day event metrics are evaluated along with year round clean up events at IDALATF meetings, and members exchange ideas to identify what was successful and what needs to be improved.

The growth of EHB's annual Clean-Up events are supported by:

Providing IDALATF members the opportunity to address illegal dumping through a unified effort of community, and state and local public agencies
Allowing members to explore and introduce new ideas to old problems
Providing a network for the public to interact with the government and local public agencies.
Providing a setting that encourages the sharing of information regarding illegal dumping.
Understanding the task force goal of protection of the environment and public health is essential message for all task force members to strive for.

As for lessons learned, we found that requesting assistant from subject matter experts within and outside of IDALATF has been overwhelmingly welcomed. State and local resources and resources from throughout the nation also provide ideas and information to continue to improve the current task. As we make progress on existing ideas to reduce illegal dumping, members have shown great willingness to take more proactive steps. Requesting and recommending partners to join the IDALATF has allowed for more opportunities to learn about the existing available resources, to learn about how each member are involved or is affected by illegal dumping, and to identify what was successful in their efforts in illegal dumping mitigation and/or reduction. Collaboration with task force members has also unified members in understanding limitations we all face and allow member to work together to eliminate those limitations (i.e. funding).

No analysis has been completed, however we understand that the more resources through volunteers reduces illegal dumping and littering thereby reducing city and county cleanup crew efforts that are costly.

IDALATF was established in 1996 and the task force has demonstrated an eagerness to grow its membership and has not waned in its effort to continue to seek new ways to address the issues at hand. New and former members celebrate the collaborative ‘s successes with each other and their respective organizations.

The problem of illegal dumping and litter will unfortunately never go away, however, the EHB and IDALATF and all of its members will continue to seek solutions to reduce illegal dumping. This is an issue that requires continuous improvements on existing ideas along with fostering innovative approaches that will help us provide the public with alternatives to illegal dumping and litter. Our goal is to continue growing the membership with long-term plans protect public health and the environment.

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Educating and Engaging the Public in Annual Clean Up Day