Environmental crimes task force investigating illegal dumping behind former Kmart

The New York-based property owner of a former Kmart store on Cleveland’s west side has installed a temporary fence in hopes of curbing the pervasive problem of illegal dumping on the property. The problem was underscored Friday when someone left behind a heaping pile of crushed asphalt. The open dumping of the asphalt is being investigated by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Environmental Crimes Task Force, which has been looking into previous open dumping cases on the property earlier this year.