The Pennsylvania DEP has reported that Operation Clean Sweep, its annual trash-truck inspection effort, resulted in 11,082 safety and environmental violations. Of particular note, DEP said, was that 12 trucking firms were responsible for 2,073 of those violations – or nearly one-fifth of the total.
Operation Clean Sweep was held May 21 through 29 in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania DOT (PennDOT). Inspectors from those agencies conducted surprise inspections of more than 40,000 trash trucks at every one of the state’s landfills.
DEP looked for environmental violations, including leaking loads and improper tarps, while state police and PennDOT conducted safety inspections, looking for violations such as bad brakes and bald tires. All agencies checked for overweight trucks. In addition, PennDOT and state police made sure drivers were licensed and had the proper paperwork.
To date, DEP said $34,000 in penalties have been handed down for violations during Operation Clean Sweep, and more are expected as district justices hold hearings statewide.
