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Allegheny County has a massive illegal dump problem. Could $1 million solve this problem for good?

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Allegheny CleanWays’ DumpBuster crew leader Al Chernov hauls a garbage can of discarded items collected at an illegal hillside dump site along North Wheeler Street in Homewood. (Photo by John Altdorfer/PublicSource)

In a cul-de-sac in Homewood recently, Al Chernov and Dani Kramer were tossing various kinds of trash into garbage bins. Couch cushions, a scale, paint cans. Suddenly, Kramer shouted, “Needles!”
Whenever the pair finds a hypodermic needle, they usually don’t just find one; they find several.
Chernov, 52, and Kramer, 31, are the only two employees who pick up trash, part time, for Allegheny CleanWays, a nonprofit that specializes in cleaning up the millions of pounds of junk that have been illegally discarded across Allegheny County. The nonprofit focuses on sites with at least 50 pounds of trash, not small pieces of litter. They pick up garbage on private land and dangerous hillsides where city workers aren’t allowed to go.
Crew member Dani Kramer empties a garbage can of discarded items she collected at an illegal hillside dump site along North Wheeler Street in Homewood. (Photo by John Altdorfer/PublicSource)

The Homewood site is typical: it’s hidden behind dense shrubbery, down a small drop-off. It’s easy for an unscrupulous hauler to slide waste over the edge of their trucks there without being seen. While the needles aren’t unusual, Chernov said he’ll find a gun on occasion: he’s found nine in piles like this.
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