On a day (June 6) when household hazardous waste was being collected across the tracks in a Noroton Heights train station parking lot, some people left their waste on a picnic table at the nearby Darien Depot youth center.
Darien Department of Public Works
Household hazardous waste left at the Depot. (Picture from the DPW quarterly report)
Paint cans, fertilizer and turpentine were left on a picnic table, Darien police said. The town Department of Public Works has now released more information about the incident.
Here’s the passage in the latest quarterly report (April to June) of the Darien Department of Public Works:
Household Hazardous Waste Day. Every year on the 1st Saturday in the month of June the Town conducts a household hazardous waste day. This year’s event was held on the south (northbound) side of the Noroton Heights Train Station on June 6, 2015.
Illegal dumping was reported by Janice Marzano at the Depot on the opposite side of the tracks. Illegal dumping wasn’t discovered until Sunday June 7, when Ms. Marzano visited Depot.
The DPW reviewed video surveillance footage from the Depot and found that dumping occurred while the event was in progress (that is between 9 and 1. At least 6 separate vehicles were seen placing household hazardous waste on picnic benches and tables at the depot (see pictures below).
Video footage was burned to disc by DPW and forwarded to Darien Police. George Swift filed police report in person after the fact. Unfortunately the video resolution is inadequate to capture license plate numbers and therefore unlike to result in arrest or identification of offenders.
The posture of offenders did not appear to be “sneaky”. This viewer wondered if these folks even considered what they were doing to be wrong. It is difficult to imagine that with all of our directional signage for the event, that someone could erroneously dispose of their waste at the depot, but it does seem at least possible.