12 Trash Haulers Found Violating State Waste Laws

Trash Truck The Department of Environmental Protection staff recently found 16 operational and safety violations on 12 trucks during a transfer station inspection on Sept. 9 at the Centre County Transfer Station, College Township.

“We made this inspection a priority to help improve compliance with DEP’s environmental regulations and state traffic safety laws,” DEP Regional Director Robert Yowell said. “We have conducted thousands of trash truck inspections over the past several years because we want to get unsafe trash trucks off the highways.”

DEP regional staff inspected 43 trucks and found 12 trucks that had 16 violations. DEP inspectors found nine violations for no daily operational log, three violations for not having proper signs, two violations for a leaking load, one violation for a discharged fire extinguisher, and one violation for not having waste properly covered. All of the violations were against haulers, not the transfer station.

Trash haulers must obtain authorization from DEP through the state’s Waste Transportation Safety Act to haul trash in Pennsylvania. DEP inspectors look at compliance history and may revoke authorization to transport waste if outstanding violations exist or there is an inability to comply with the regulations.

In addition to checking the hauling authorization, DEP inspectors look for fire extinguisher and sign violations, drivers not properly managing waste during transport, leaking loads, improper covers over the waste, trucks that are overweight or otherwise overloaded, and log book or record-keeping violations.

For more information on the inspections, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us, keyword: “Trash Trucks.”

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