Dearborn mayor works to keep parks clean after reports of littering, dumping

DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — City leaders in Dearborn say they are dealing with a serious trash problem.

Mayor Abdullah Hammoud says in a number of city parks, people are dumping garbage and leaving litter.

Thursday night, Hammoud says he received a text message from a neighbor after another resident dumped their trash at a pocket park near Alber and Bingham.

Hammoud said in a post on social media regarding the incident, he was able to personally track down the alleged dumper thanks to an area homeowner's surveillance video. Hammoud says he returned the trash to the homeowner.

"We had a candid conversation that this will not be tolerated and why it will not be tolerated," the mayor said of the Thursday incident.

The alleged dumper was given a $500 citation for littering.

Mayor Hammoud says he's been working to address trash in the city for several weeks as a part of his #CleanStreets campaign.

"As a lifelong Dearbornite, the whole city is my home. So when I drive around and I see garbage in the street or garbage in a park, it upsets me because it feels as if it’s garbage in my own backyard," said Hammoud.

The city says they've started investing in more trash receptacles, buying covers and lids for park trash cans and buying trucks to vacuum/sweep city curbs. The city says they're also planning to hire street cleaning crews who will start this fall.

Hammoud says for him the campaign is about encouraging people to respect where they live.

"The cleanliness of our city speaks to the beautification of our city. Whenever an outside visitor comes to our city, I want them to speak positively about Dearborn," said Hammoud. "I’ve traveled and whenever I get to a city that is absolutely spotless that’s a talking point, and we want that for our whole city."