HAULING — Individuals with Jefferson County Probate Court’s community service program and Eastern Ohio Correction Center strung together tires to be hauled up the Tweed Avenue hillside using a vehicle-mounted winch. -- Christopher Dacanay

STEUBENVILLE — Around a dozen individuals worked Tuesday and Wednesday to clean up a long-time illegal dumping site, one that Jefferson County’s litter control officer considers “probably the worst spot in the county.”

Deputy Ben Swoyer, environmental enforcement officer for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, was joined by JB Green Team and employees and individuals from Jefferson County Probate Court’s community service program and Eastern Ohio Correction Center in a clean-up effort along Tweed Avenue in Steubenville.

During those two days, the group trekked up and down ravines and along the nearby creek, hauling out tires, furniture, trash bags and other illegally discarded odds and ends.

“This place is one of the most notorious dump sites, so the goal is to clean it up,” Swoyer said Tuesday.

Serving as Jefferson County’s litter enforcer since June 2023, Swoyer said he’s been monitoring Tweed Avenue for a while.

LOADED UP — Some of the tires collected from around Tweed Avenue during this week’s clean-up were stored in a trailer. -- Christopher Dacanay

Several illegal dumping cases have been prosecuted because of litter on the road, he said. Although clean-up efforts have targeted the road before, individuals have continued to dump a variety of items along the road. Swoyer said the focus of this outing was the “hundreds” of tires hurled over the hillsides.

Tweed Avenue receives only local traffic, Swoyer said. He hopes that drivers will observe the clean-up and be disinclined to pollute the road again. He also hopes individuals will be more motivated to “see something, say something” when it comes to illegal dumping.

Spurred by the recent weather break, this was Swoyer’s first of likely a few different clean-up projects this year. He tries to host cleaning sessions in the spring, when foliage isn’t as dense. Swoyer said he tries to hit the “worst places first” and hopes to hit at least six more by the season’s end.

Many community members have been supportive of the clean-ups, either by signing up to help or helping identify problem areas, Swoyer said.

Illegal dumpers best beware, as these scheduled clean-ups can occasionally lead to prosecution, particularly when contents of the litter can be traced to its person of origin. Tweed Avenue and other areas are also video monitored, Swoyer noted.

TRASHY — Deputy Ben Swoyer, environmental enforcement officer for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, walked by a pile of garbage illegally discarded along Tweed Avenue in Steubenville. -- Christopher Dacanay

The legal consequences of dumping vary by item discarded, but may consist of fines or prison time.

Discarded tires carry particularly weighty consequences, with illegally disposing a tire being considered an unclassified felony, Swoyer said. Tires are environmentally hazardous, serving as breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which carry diseases.

Swoyer said that individuals wanting to assist with a clean-up or report illegal dumping can contact him through the sheriff’s department or JB Green Team. He works out of both offices, with the JB Green Team helping finance his position by purchasing enforcement vehicles and equipment.

The goal on Tuesday was to get the area manageable, moving hard-to-reach tires from the hillside to the roadside so they could be easily collected, Swoyer said. Work officially wrapped up Wednesday, but Swoyer planned to continue cleaning through the rest of the week.

To get those tires up the hill, Swoyer and the others utilized a new, $3,000 winch mounted to his vehicle. Workers strung a cable through multiple tires at a time, which were then pulled up the hill to be collected.

Workers had to watch their footing on the hillside and surrounding area — a neighborhood that once held shops and homes, according to Swoyer. The presence of caved-in wells posed a risk for individuals navigating the area.

By Wednesday afternoon, the group had collected 42 bags of trash, 157 tires, three full-size mattresses and other miscellaneous items, adding up to an estimated 5,700 pounds of refuse.

Swoyer tracks all collected litter, breaking it down by type and recording its estimated weight. Throughout 2024, Swoyer said, he oversaw the removal of 18,000 pounds of dumped debris.

JB Green Team Executive Director Anita Petrella arrived on scene Tuesday to see the group’s progress.

Petrella said the JB Green Team has been working on Tweed Avenue for the past five years. That first year, crews located items from as far back as the 1930s, she said, but people have continued to dump their trash along the road.

JB Green Team, officially known as the Jefferson-Belmont Regional Solid Waste Authority, is a “is a two-county government agency responsible for implementing a solid waste management plan designed to achieve the goals set by the (Ohio Environmental Protection Agency) for waste reduction, recycling and reducing reliance on landfilling waste generated within the (Jefferson and Belmont counties),” according to its website.

Petrella said Tweed Avenue is one of the major problem areas in Jefferson County, with others being Powells Lane in Wintersville and some county roads.

Petrella noted that this clean-up was assisted by JB Green Team’s new community service coordinator, Jim Raymond.

Instead of “throwing it over the hill,” Petrella said, JB Green Team has some upcoming events during which residents can properly dispose of their trash.

The solid waste authority will hold its township clean-ups, which allow residents to throw out certain large/bulk household junk items, starting April 3 in Jefferson County and Saturday in Belmont County. More information is available at jbgreenteam.org and individuals can also call the office at (740) 266-6899.

JB Green Team will also hold its household electronics and hazardous waste collection June 14 for Jefferson County at 228 Technology Way, Steubenville, and Oct. 4 for Belmont County at 45300 Roscoe Road, St. Clairsville.