Illegal dumping concerns grow as Metro Detroit residents clean up after severe flooding

Detroit residents should put items at curb, mayor says

WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – Tips have been coming in from viewers all across Metro Detroit about illegal dumping.

The concern now is that after the severe weather people may dump their ruined items rather than disposing of them properly.

If you drive down almost any street in Detroit you’ll find items along the street that were ruined by the recent flooding. Some people are taking those ruined items and dumping them in other locations.



A Help Me Hank volunteer reported a recent illegal dumping incident behind a collision shop at 8 Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue.

Al Oleszko owns Nortown Collision & Glass Co. He discovered the piles of debris after someone dumped their storm-damaged items behind his shop.

“You did hear a truck in the alley. Went out to look to see what’s going on and there was no license plate on it and they were just throwing trash,” Oleszko said. “If they would have just put it out in front of their house it would have gotten picked up at a decent time.”

Detroit is going to have special pickup opportunities and residents can put ruined items out at the curb without having to worry about fines.

“Put your debris out at the curb now,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said.




About the Authors:

Hank Winchester is Local 4’s Consumer Investigative Reporter and the head of WDIV’s “Help Me Hank” Consumer Unit. Hank works to solve consumer complaints, reveal important recalls and track down thieves who have ripped off people in our community.

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.