Police in Russellville, Alabama, have made strides against illegal dumping with the help of video surveillance, according to News 19.

With cameras in strategic locations throughout the city, authorities wasted no time cracking down on offenders. One 49-year-old resident, Cirilo Contreras Nunes, was arrested for criminal littering — a Class B misdemeanor offense in the state — on the first day the cameras were operational.

Criminal littering, illegal dumping, and fly-tipping (a U.K. term) are different names for a serious act affecting communities worldwide. It goes beyond discarding items like small food wrappers (which is bad in itself), as perpetrators often leave larger quantities of waste, from construction debris to piles of pest-attracting tires.

One family in British Columbia left close to "1,000 pounds of used diapers" in a backcountry forest. The smell from all that fecal matter isn't inviting to people, but flies and other pests love it.

Even when placed where it should be, trash is a huge global problem because there's too much of it. Overflowing landfills are major contributors to carbon and methane pollution in the atmosphere. Methane is 28 times more potent than CO2 in terms of warming Earth (pound for pound), according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

As a result, the planet continues to overheat, producing harsher weather patterns that include heatwaves and intense rainstorms.

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Dumped plastic often seeps into oceans, where it further breaks down into microplastics and nanoplastics that can enter the human body. So, imagine the impact when trash ends up in parks or on sidewalks right outside houses or businesses.

Video surveillance has helped catch criminal litterers beyond Alabama. Cameras captured someone dumping waste in the backwaters of Kochi, India, an act that can contaminate drinking water, kill aquatic life, and increase the risk of illness. A resident recorded a septic truck dumping waste into a sewage system and sent the video to the municipal utility district.

Obtaining proof can lead to another deterrent to waste: fines and charges. News 19 reported that the first conviction for criminal littering in Alabama carries a fine of up to $500. Two men will pay a combined $15,000 for illegally dumping construction debris in Long Island.

"We will continue to monitor known dumping areas and enforce city and state laws to help keep Russellville clean and safe," the Russellville Police Department told News 19. Anyone can take local action by recycling, picking up litter, and reporting those who dump trash in unauthorized areas.