San Diego

A new hot line has been designed by a local civic group, allowing residents of San Diego County to call and anonymously report abandoned cars, people who throw trash out of car windows or people who illegally dump garbage or toxic waste.

I Love a Clean San Diego, the civic group that works to keep San Diego clean, has established the Litter Hotline (619-232-6294), effective today. The line will also provide callers with information about trash and litter recycling and landfill operations. If the caller’s questions can’t be answered, operators will direct them to the right sources.

“We were getting a lot of calls for all kinds of litter and abatement problems,” said Gaye Soroka, executive director for the group. “The board decided that we should centralize all the calls and set up a procedure where we could answer general and specific questions concerning trash and litter.”

Though the hot line will follow up on most complaints, Soroka said, the agencies who handle the problems directly will be very careful in checking the facts before towing a vehicle or citing the alleged violator.

“In the past, we really haven’t had any problems with prank calls or calls from vicious neighbors,” Soroka said. “I really don’t think that will be a problem. Most of the complaints or concerns we’ve received were legitimate.”

The establishment of the Litter Hotline would not have been possible without funding from grants and donations, Soroka said. The county has given I Love a Clean San Diego $3,000 and San Diego County’s Home Depot chain has donated $13,000.