(Kansas City, Mo.) – Kansas City’s parks add natural spaces and beauty to our city. Unfortunately, some see the slopes and trees as a hiding place. Recently, KC Water staff received notice that an illegal dump site had been discovered.
“I got a call from the Office of Environmental Quality and we had a report of an illegal dump,” said KC Water Environmental Manager Robert Fort.
Fort and his team found more than two dozen, 5-gallon buckets of flammable paint dumped in a Kansas City park.
“Instead of calling a contractor in and having it hauled away, they’d decided to dump it down the hill,” said Fort.
A few times a year, KC Water is called on to clean up an illegal dump of waste materials. KC Water and the Office of Environmental Quality work together to determine if KC Water must clean it up or if help from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources is needed.
Because of the amount of paint dumped at this location, it’s most likely a business did this. And, it’s a crime.
“Go ahead and use your environmental contractor to get rid of your paint,” said Fort. “Don’t dump it in the city. If we catch you it’s a thousand dollar fine and up to a year in prison.”
While businesses need to rely on environmental contractors, Kansas City residents can drop off old paint and other hazardous waste items such as batteries and light bulbs for free at KC Water’s Household Hazardous Waste facility. Located at 4707 Deramus Avenue, the facility is open for drop-offs Thursdays through Saturdays. More information, including times, can be found here.
Kansas City residents may also utilize one of the two bulky item pickup services that are available. Information on those services can be found online.
For more information, please contact Brooke Givens, Media Relations Coordinator, at brooke.givens@kcmo.org or 816.513.0284.
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KC Water maintains and operates water treatment and distribution systems, stormwater management systems, and wastewater collection and treatment systems for residential and business customers in Kansas City and for wholesale customers in the Kansas City area. KC Water is primarily funded by fees charged to customers based on their use or impacts on the three utility systems.
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