The Mojave County Board of Supervisors this week approved amendments to existing county ordinances against illegal dumping to increase penalties for local mealworms.
Littering remains an ongoing problem for residents, volunteers, and county officials. Last year, the issue prompted U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials to call for harsher penalties for people who litter in the desert. Based on Monday’s decision by the Mojave County Board of Supervisors, offenders will face a minimum fine of $1,000 for a first offense and a fine of $2,500 for a second offense.
The county will also offer a $500 bounty for information that leads directly to the prosecution and conviction of anyone who litters on county property. If violators are identified, they will be required to remove trash from abandoned public or private property within five days or face additional criminal prosecution.
Illegal dumping remains a serious problem in rural areas of the county. Golden Valley Cactus Cleaner Volunteer Mark Schmicke addressed the issue at a meeting of the county board on Monday. For the past seven years, Schmicke has worked with his organization to clean up other people’s trash in the Mojave County desert.
“Our volunteer groups have removed 784,000 pounds of trash and debris,” Schmicke said. “We installed 42 boats, 4 hot tubs and about 20,000 tires weighing 530,000 pounds. We have worked to strengthen the laws on littering and illegal dumping.”
Penalties for illegal dumping in Mojave County previously included a $500 fine, and officers were allowed to remove each piece of trash in exchange for payment.
“I personally believe that giving criminals a hard blow is the only way to deal with this problem,” Schmicke said. “Just tapping it with your hand won’t work.”
The revised anti-littering ordinance included a requirement for rental property owners to provide tenants with a professional garbage collection service or the landlord’s own garbage collection service once a week. The Mojave County Board of Supervisors rolled out its requirements on Monday and approved a revised no-littering ordinance in a unanimous decision.
