DEARBORN — The Dearborn City Council on Wednesday approved an emergency ordinance that prohibits curbside scavenging of trash in the city. The punishment for violating the ordinance is a $500 fine and 93 days in jail. The emergency ordinance will expire in 61 days, unless the council takes further action.  

City ordinance prohibits curbside scavengers from creating litter and scattering trash while looking for discarded flood damaged materials they deem of value.

With an enormous amount of bulk trash set at the curb following extensive basement flooding after the Aug. 11 storm, residents are seeing more people rummaging through the trash.  Residents should call the non-emergency police number at 313.943.2241 or the anonymous suspicious activity hotline at 313.943.3030 to report these behaviors. In order to continue to help households affected by basement flooding, the city is encouraging people to keep their vehicles off the street in areas where damaged materials have been set on the curb. This will allow heavy equipment to access and collect the large amounts of flood-damaged materials and remove it from neighborhoods.