Launched in March 2014, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) “Don’t Waste Our Open Space” campaign has been taking steps to reduce and eliminate illegal dumping of construction debris, motor vehicle parts, and other materials on state-owned natural lands. The DEP has announced several incidents resulting in charges against violators since the crackdown began, most recently just over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The DEP reports that since the launch of their strict enforcement of the campaign this past spring, twenty-eight (28) arrests or enforcement actions have taken place.
The “Don’t Waste Our Open Space” campaign is meant to help prevent illegal dumping as well as raising the public’s awareness of the problem. The DEP is relying on motion-sensitive cameras in state parks and wildlife management areas to help find violators and monitor these at-risk areas.
You can find information on the arrests and charges filed under this plan here, and you can read more about the DEP’s dumping crackdown on the DEP’s official press release.