Tuesday
September 26, 2023 
After closing a township-controlled dump yard because of rampant misuse of the property, Hilltown supervisors are now trying to find an alternative facility where township residents can deposit certain yard waste for free.
The topic came up at the Monday (Sept. 23) evening meeting of the Hilltown Board of Supervisors, about a month after the local governing board voted to shutter the yard waste dumping site on Fairhill Road.
Supervisor Jack McIlhinney said the township has had talks with an alterative facility where Hilltown residents could potentially be able get rid of yard waste in the future.
As was the case at the now-closed Fairhill Road site, the dumping would be for free, provided one can prove that he or she is a Hilltown resident, said McIlhinney.
Still, McIlhinney cautioned that the talks are preliminary and nothing has been set in place yet. As such, he declined to name the potential partner.
“We’re going to find another place to do this, but it’s not going to be at the Fairhill Road site,” said Supervisor Jim Groff.
The Fairhill Road dump was intended to be a place where residents could dispose, for free, of yard waste like tree limbs up to a certain size, branches, Christmas trees, and other similar trees and shrubs.
While many residents used the site properly, some locals and folks from beyond Hilltown’s borders weren’t as scrupulous, dumping disallowed debris, including diapers. Even animals were left there.
The bigger problem, as supervisors explained Monday, was landscapers’ chronically dumping at the site despite signs posting that the facility was not for them. Cameras recording the malfeasance didn’t dissuade the illicit activity.
“You expect people to have integrity,” said Groff. “But don’t expect integrity with this.”
Township police issued tickets, but the majority of tickets were dismissed at district court, according to township supervisors.
