Dumpster Cam Debut

In an effort to control the skyrocketing cost of waste removal at Incline Pines, the HOA is experimenting with a “dumpster cam” to prevent abuse. So far the camera has paid off in other ways.

Illegal and improper dumping has long plagued Incline Pines and despite warning signs placed near the dumpsters through the years, the problem persists. In September the HOA began an experiment with a solar-powered surveillance camera connected to a wireless 4G LTE network.

Perhaps the mere existence of the camera is an effective deterrent. Random checks of recorded video have shown no signs of outsiders or contractors using our dumpsters. Yay! But we’ve also been able to see how Incline Property Management and Waste Management are dealing with our trash.

The first week the camera was operating, we saw an IPM crew dumping bags from our bear boxes. This what we’ve asked them to do now that we have larger, six-yard dumpsters– to save costly trips to the transfer station. But that first week the crew dumped garbage into BOTH dumpsters, despite one of them being dedicated to recycling only. We alerted the community manager and she said she’d make sure this doesn’t happen again.

Along with the larger dumpsters, we’ve got a new arrangement for Waste Management to use their full-size garbage trucks to empty them. In the past, WM sent smaller trucks to carry the dumpsters to the transfer station. All we had to do was turn the dumpsters sideways so the large trucks could get their forks into them. Our camera shows this new arrangement is working.

On Friday, Sept. 30, an HOA board member noticed a paving crew the association hired to fix a persistent sinkhole near the dumpsters getting ready to pour asphalt into the void. But the signed contract called for the crew to dig down to find the source of the hole– not just to provide a temporary fix. The dumpster cam captured the moment we told the crew to stand down and come back when they were ready to do the job properly.

The HOA wants to see how well the off-the-shelf camera holds up to a Sierra winter– and if there’s enough sunlight in the winter months to keep the battery charged. If the camera is robust enough, the board may explore adding more at other potential problem spots, like the entrance and exits to and from Incline Pines.

Finally, the camera DID get video of a suspicious encounter at the dumpsters early Thursday morning, Oct. 6. But the latches held firm and this case will be closed with no further action. <Grin>.