The town is setting up cameras to curb illegal dumping.
Phillipsburg has a message for those who use the town as a dumping ground.
"You're going to get caught," said public works department supervisor Mike Stires.
Phillipsburg says a motion-detecting camera spied this woman dumping trash illegally. The cameras are being set up around town to deter others or catch them in the act. (Courtesy photo) The DPW and town police are teaming up and using cameras to deter those who are illegally leaving trash. It has been an issue for years, and Mayor Stephen Ellis said it is getting worse.
When people discard electronics, furniture and other trash on abandoned properties or around donation bins -- which typically only take clothes and shoes -- it can present a risk to the municipal employees cleaning it up, Ellis said.
"It's getting to the point now that the (DPW) guys are bringing bedbugs home," Ellis said. "It's serious."
The town has started setting up motion-detecting cameras in strategic spots, officials said. A summons for littering was issued to 37-year-old Sitgreaves Street resident Elizabeth Bright-Sandt after she was recorded dumping trash on Sunday, according to a town news release.
Not all the violators are from town -- Stires said people have also reported seeing Pennsylvania plates on offenders' vehicles.
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But the act of installing the cameras seems itself to be a deterrent, he said.
"People see us doing it," Stires said, "and then they don't dump there anymore."
Anyone caught illegally dumping could face fines up to $2,000, the news release said.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.