Dive Brief:
- Chicago contractors are routinely dumping construction materials at unauthorized dump sites, while charging the city for fees related to proper disposal of the waste, according to a report recently unveiled by Chicago’s inspector general, Joe Ferguson.
- In his Advisory Concerning the Disposal of Non-hazardous Waste from City Infrastructure Projects, Ferguson notes that the inquiry began in September 2012, after a Chicago Department of Public Health environmental inspector twice witnessed illegal dumping of milled asphalt from city projects. The inspector general’s inquiry that followed found that contractors dumping milled asphalt at unpermitted sites "is standard operating procedure."
- In the first witnessed incident, a contractor working on a Chicago Department of Transportation street resurfacing project dumped milled asphalt at a former dump site which was in remediation. The second incident involved a city Department of Water Management subcontractor dumping milled asphalt from a city project on a subcontractor’s property.
Dive Insight:
Chicago’s tough-on-crime inspector general’s inquiry is helpful, both for the city and the waste and recycling industry. In uncovering this serious health and environmental concern, Ferguson also uncovered a system of fraud, through which contractors bilked the city of tipping fees that were never incurred.
