A Maryland man pleaded guilty to dumping 110 gallons of what he said was cooking oil, which ended up flowing into a state waterway, according to Maryland's WJLA.

A concerned witness saw the man dumping the oil from a truck at the dead end of a street. The Attorney General's Environmental and Natural Resources Crimes Unit (ENRCU) investigated the allegation. The unit's website states that it handles "dangerous accumulation, storage or disposal of hazardous waste."

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission found the man was not licensed as a waste hauler and did not have a permit.

There are significantly more responsible ways to dispose of cooking oil, especially in such large amounts.

The website Mahoney Environmental said that making sure it gets recycled is the smartest move. "Used cooking oil can also be filtered and processed into renewable fuel which burns cleaner than regular diesel fuel. It is also common for used cooking oil to be used in sustainable aviation fuel. It is also common for used cooking oil to be used in animal feed," it said.

When people are called out for irresponsible behavior, whether it's dumping building materials incorrectly or polluting waterways with "forever chemicals," people learn that their disregard for both the community and the ecosystem has consequences.

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Not only can illegal dumping create an eyesore, it can, as in this case, pollute waterways, causing damage to local species, and it can even become a fire hazard.

And it's a bigger problem than many realize. Dumpsters.com states that, "Americans alone are estimated to illegally dump almost 1.5 million tons of trash each year." So it's important for people to take a stand, like this vigilant Maryland community member did.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown said, "My Office will always hold accountable those who pollute Maryland's waters and threaten Marylanders' health," according to WJLA.

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