Man hit with hefty fine after authorities uncover repeated dangerous acts: 'The people who are doing this should be ashamed of what they're doing'

A Milwaukee man was hit with a steep fine after he was caught illegally dumping thousands of tires in a vacant lot multiple times.

Dennis Bowen, 41, was caught discarding tires in the lot at least five times by wardens from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, according to WISN. The wardens wrote him a littering citation for each instance of illegal dumping, costing him a total of $3,855.

Bowen claimed to run a tire recycling operation, but he did not register such a business with the state of Wisconsin. He acquired the tires from local residents and auto shops.

Bowen admitted to dumping around 4,000 tires in the lot. He said he knew the act was illegal, but he continued because "it saved him money."

Tire waste is not only a major eyesore for local residents but also hazardous to people. Old tires are a fire hazard, leach chemicals into the ground, and release microplastics into local waterways, which can cause health issues for animals and humans.

"The people who are doing this should be ashamed of what they're doing," said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson in an interview with WISN. "It affects people's quality of life. No one wants to wake up and see a pile of 5,000 tires."

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Milwaukee has been facing an influx of tire dumping incidents, which has been costly to taxpayers. Eric Broxton, manager of the local recycling business Tires Express LLC, has been taking the matter into his own hands by helping cleanup efforts and educating others on how to properly dispose of their tires, according to WTMJ.

"We're not here to point fingers — we're here to offer solutions," Broxton told WTMJ. "Illegal dumping happens when people don't have clear, easy ways to dispose of their tires. By working together, we can fix this."

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