BATAVIA, Ohio — A Milford man will spend four years in prison for dumping trash — thousands of pounds of it — in an illegal backyard landfill over the course of several years.
Prosecutors said 53-year-old Donald Combs solicited waste-removal jobs on Craigslist and Facebook, then took the garbage to his own property and dumped it there instead of in a licensed landfill.
In some cases, he abandoned his loads on another owner’s property nearby.
Some piles of waste stood over 20 feet high by the time of his arrest. Photos released by the office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost show mountains of splintered wood, children’s toys, overflowing garbage bags and abandoned tires at the landfill.
Yost estimated the total cost of removal around $1.3 million.
Combs pleaded guilty in April to illegal open dumping of solid waste, illegal operation of a solid waste facility without a license, violating EPA environmental protection orders and illegal open burning of solid waste.
He was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison.
“Your home might be your castle, but your yard is not your landfill,” Yost said in a statement.
