County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works

The Antelope Valley Illegal Dumping Task Force was created in 1996 by Supervisor Michael Antonovich to promote public awareness of the problem of illegal dumping in the Antelope Valley and to provide information that will assist the consumer in the proper disposal of waste.

In 2008, The Antelope Valley Illegal Dumping Task Force was pleased to sponsor the Illegal Dumping Awareness (IDA) Senior Project Award. Cash prizes were awarded to the students who completed the best senior projects intended to raise awareness of the negative impacts of illegal dumping in the Antelope Valley.

Criteria used to judge the senior projects were:

Some students competing for the awards requested, and were assigned, a mentor from the task force to help them as they completed their project. Upon completion of projects, students provided a presentation to the Task Force.

PRIZES

First prize went to a five-student team from the Law and Government Academy at Highland High School. Five students were given cash awards of $100.00 each. The team encouraged recycling and provided free recycling bins, made tee shirts to raise awareness of illegal dumping issues, conducted “teach-ins” in area schools to raise awareness of illegal dumping, and conducted trash cleanups. Their work involved coordination with Waste Management Inc. and other Task Force members.

The winning team members were:

Crystal Gudino
Lupe Ikahihifo
Evy Monge
Shannen Motter
Cherish Vaught

Honorable mention and a prize of $50.00 was awarded to Nancy Marquez at Knight High School for a GPS mapping project of illegal dumping sites in the Antelope Valley. Nancy worked closely with Laura Been, a Task Force member, on this GPS mapping project.

For additional pictures of the Senior Project Award, please click here.