SAN ANTONIO — They call it the "Fight Dirty Campaign."
It's an initiative by the city to catch illegal dumpers in the act and make them pay.
A police report indicates two men are already awaiting court appearances after they were caught dumping hundreds of pounds of scrap fencing material on Plumnear Road on the southwest side.
Police say if convicted, the men could face fines up to $500 and up to 30 days in jail. Court records indicate they were both released from jail with $500 bonds.
The arrests were made last month, when police officers set up surveillance in an area well known for illegal dumping.
The officers reported they watched the men from an unmarked vehicle and they saw them discard the material and let them drive off.
The report indicates that when the vehicle disregarded a stop sign nearby, a marked police vehicle made a traffic stop and the two men were arrested.
Marcus Lee, with the city's Solid Waste Management division, said the enforcement campaign will target the worst illegal dumping spots in town.
"We have been cleaning up and picking up some of these locations for years so we know exactly where they are. We know exactly where to look," Lee said.
Lee said one challenge in charging people with the crime of illegal dumping is that the act must be witnessed by a police officer. Statements from other witnesses, he said, will not hold up in court.
"We decided to do an actual sting operation," Lee said.
"We want to emphasize that this is not a one-off. We're going to be doing this throughout the coming months and perhaps longer," Lee said, adding that what had been an invisible problem for many will now be made visible when people start to get arrested.
Lee said the statistics related to illegal dumping are daunting.
"For our year-end report for 2022, we picked up 2,400 tons of trash and that was 9,500 individual cleanup stops, and in addition to that on 150 miles of highways we picked up litter. So it's a big, big problem," Lee said.
The next year, Lee said, the city is adding what they call a hot shot team that will be completely devoted to dump abatement.
"That's all they do. That's their full time job," Lee said, adding they had to buy specialty equipment to deal with off road dumps.
"It is a big taxing resource for the citizens of San Antonio," Lee said.
The city does provide a number of different ways for citizens to dispose of waste legally and at no cost.
With regard to cleaning up illegal dumping, Lee said they want people to report problem areas as soon as possible by dialing 311.
"We have learned the longer it stays there, the faster it grows so we have to clean it up as quickly as we can," Lee said. "It is dangerous and unhealthy and it's disrespectful. It is an affront and an offense to our beautiful city."