Say Cheese

Rebekah A. Hall

OFFICIALS IN KANSAS CITY, MO., have decided every picture tells a story. To crack down on illegal dumping in a park known for trash and graffiti, the city has installed surveillance cameras to snap pictures of environmental assailants.

For approximately eight years, someone has dumped mysterious yellow plastic bags in Sunnyside Park, which has caused trash overflow. The yellow bags sometimes contain hazardous waste, but the parks department had never identified the bags' owner. That is, until a camera took a picture of a pickup truck one night. Since then, the yellow bags have not reappeared in the park.

The cameras are equipped to flash once a picture has been taken and can record a warning message. Police will prosecute illegal dumpers that they identify.

Although cameras cost $300,000 each, the city considers them a good investment because $2.1 million is spent on park maintenance each year. Besides, if one picture is worth a thousand words, the investment should pay for itself in no time.

Source: The Kansas City Star