Wayne County, Michigan - Department of Environment

Illegal dumping is a major problem in many urban and rural communities in Wayne County. It affects public health and safety, decreases property value, discourages economic growth, and helps to perpetuate negative perceptions about a community and its citizens. Local governments and private property owners incur significant costs associated with the clean up and prevention of illegal dumping. Many of the communities hardest hit by illegal dumping are those least prepared in terms of manpower and financial ability to combat it.

Recognizing the severity of the problem in our communities, Wayne County has put together an illegal dumping program called “C.L.E.A.N.” (County Lending Environmental Assistance to Neighborhoods) designed to fight illegal dumping in our communities. Municipalities, community groups or faith-based groups who wish to participate in the C.L.E.A.N. program will be required to submit an application for their proposed project to the program’s administrator, the Land Resource Management Division (LRMD) of Wayne County’s Department of Environment. To access a copy of the C.L.E.A.N. program summary, application guidelines and application form click on the link below.

C.L.E.A.N. project applications can be submitted for several different types of cleanups. The first type of project (Type A), is one in which a community, community group, or faith-based group submits an application requesting that the County provide a complete cleanup of an area impacted by illegal dumping. The second type of project (Type B), is one where a community, community group, or faith-based group proposes to furnish the manpower to clean up an area impacted by illegal dumping with the County providing the hauling and disposal of the collected waste. All applications for C.L.E.A.N. projects must identify how the applicant will secure the site following the cleanup to reduce the potential for further dumping. Further detail on requirements for securing sites can be found in the application guidelines available from the link below.

The Land Resource Management Division will administer this program and will accept applications at any time. A Site Selection Committee (Committee) will evaluate all applications received and will select 8 to 10 projects per year (for detail on the Site Selection Committee see program summary). The success of this program will be judged not by how many sites have been cleaned up but rather on how many of those sites remain clean.

For further information on the program including a more complete program summary, application guidelines, and a copy of the application click on the link below. If you have questions about the program or need further information please contact Michael F. Droze at (734) 326-4437.