Littering, Dumping Frequent at Joliet Park District

Photos showing trash at Pilcher Park courtesy of Judith Studer.

There are designated areas to dispose of trash and electronics, but some people feel that place can also be a park.

Littering and illegal dumping has been happening frequently at Pilcher Park and other areas in the Joliet Park District, according to Pilcher Park Nature Center Manager Katie Zaban.

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Zaban said people use the park as a dumping ground because it’s forested and they think it’s secret. The park roads are also open at night, which allows litterbugs to dump their waste under the cover of darkness.

“Unless the Joliet police are around, they can just dump the stuff and hightail it without anybody really knowing about it,” she said.

Photos of electronics recently dumped in the park show a TV, vacuum cleaner and other items. For some people, it may just be a case of ignorance and not knowing where they can legally dump these items. Zaban also said some people might think that park employees will take care of it.

“I don’t want to say it’s a lazy thing, but maybe. They might also be unaware as to where recycling centers are,” she said.

According to Zaban, park employees will encounter some form of littering every day, and dumping of TVs or other larger items around three times a week.

Perhaps some people feel that dumping is a victimless crime, but Zaban said the environment is negatively impacted through their actions.

“If the animals were to ingest plastic or metal or anything that has chemicals in it, a) they could choke on it or b) they could be poisoned,” Zaban said.

It’s also affecting the plant life. Whatever is inside of the items being dumped leeches into the ground and kills plants.

“It could also get into our creek system and kills fish or bugs. It could kill the birds that are eating the fish. It’s a whole cycle,” Zaban said

In addition to the environmental concerns, aesthetically the dumping just makes the park look bad.

“It makes us look like we’re a garbage dump,” Zaban said. “The visitors that come here all the time see it and they come in to talk to us about it and we try our best, but the unfortunate thing is we could spend all day cleaning the park and getting all the garbage up, but nighttime comes and it’s all back the same.”

Pilcher Park Visitor Judith Studer visited the park recently and took photos of the dumping and littering. She said she reported the littering to the park.

“They have a full-time job just cleaning up after the uncivilized in this town,” Studer said in an email.

Studer said she thinks people should be banned from visiting the park at night.

If you notice someone littering or illegally dumping, contact the Joliet Park District at 815-741-7275 or the Joliet Police Department at 815-724-3100.