Why do people throw out old motors, bicycles, anything metal into rivers and lakes instead of a junk yard or the trash system?
I have been watching magnet fishing and people love to toss stuff over bridges without a second thought on the environmental impact. Hiding evidence I can almost understand but not lawnmowers, car batteries, etc.
It seems deeper fines should be made to discourage this terrible behavior.
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A lot of it is stolen, stripped of what the theives want, and then dumped to get rid of evidence. Whatever is left anyway. The rest is simply because it's cheaper than bringing it to the landfill. Landfill is $12-15 for a truckload. The fine is (up to) $10000 for illegal dumping where I am. Lots of risk, but the likelihood of getting caught at night is so low that it isn't really a factor. Landfill really just needs to be free for individual residents. The amount the gov spends on cleanups is probably more than their $12.
Around here landfill usage is completely focused on commercial users. Costs $250/ton. Least they can give you is a half-ton. So if I want to get rid of my old bike legally, that's $125.
What a helpful system that doesn't contribute to littering and illegal dumping at all.
damn metal and electronics are free at the recycle station here. including bikes, appliances, broken screen leftover from phone repair, etc