Kissimmee business owner speaks out after illegal dumping caught on camera

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – A Kissimmee grocery store owner is speaking out after surveillance cameras captured someone illegally dumping trash — including a bed frame — in the business’s private dumpster.

The incident, which happened on a Sunday night, has since sparked a wave of threatening messages after the owner shared the footage on social media.

The video shows a man parking a U-Haul truck outside the store, removing several items and placing them in and around the dumpster.

“We saw that someone drove into our private business and dumped their personal trash around a dumpster that we paid for, despite the cameras being clearly visible,” said the owner, Weslyne.

Weslyne, who asked that her face and the store’s location not be revealed due to the ongoing threats, said the messages she has received since posting the video have been jarring.

“Get out of our town. Get out of our neighborhood. We don’t want you here. I’m like, what?” she said.

She said she initially gave the person seen in the video time to return and remove the trash before involving authorities.

“We decided to report the incident to law enforcement after providing that person ample time to return, to come back and make their wrongs right. They decided not to. People are sending messages, creating fake pages and threatening us, saying that it’s not going to go anywhere,” Weslyne said.

Florida law is clear: It is illegal to dispose of garbage in someone else’s private dumpster or on private property without the owner’s consent.

For small business owners, the consequences go beyond the mess.

“It is frustrating because illegal dumping doesn’t just create a mess, it can leave the property owners responsible for cleanup costs and potentially other consequences,” Weslyne said.

Those consequences can include issues with code enforcement or with the waste collection company contracted by the business. Haulers monitor what is placed in garbage trucks to ensure it complies with the terms of their service contracts.