Neighbors burning plastic every day, need a good camera for evidence

Home Security Systems Forum
1

New neighbors are burning plastic bags and trash daily, and the wind blows the smoke straight toward our house. It happens every single day.

The fire is about 180 feet away, so I need a camera that can capture clear video from that distance for evidence. I have an outdoor outlet to power the camera, but I’d rather avoid running Ethernet cables, so I’d prefer a Wi-Fi option. Ideally, I’d like the footage to be saved to a microSD card rather than relying on cloud storage.

Infrared would be nice, but since they burn mostly during the day, it’s not a dealbreaker.

Any recommendations? Thanks in advance.

2

You’re not the police, fire department, or code enforcement. Just report it and keep reporting it.

3

Trevor said:
You’re not the police, fire department, or code enforcement. Just report it and keep reporting it.

If you can provide video evidence to the authorities, they’re more likely to act on it.

4

Trevor said:
You’re not the police, fire department, or code enforcement. Just report it and keep reporting it.

The city isn’t going to send someone to sit and watch them burn trash every day. But if you give them clear video evidence, they might actually do something. A friend of mine used video to get his neighbor arrested for animal cruelty.

5

That’s awful. Burning plastic is toxic. You should definitely report it to the police and fire department. Sorry you’re dealing with this.

6

You’ll need a camera with a strong optical zoom:

  • Reolink RLC-811A – 5x optical zoom, onboard microSD storage.
  • Reolink RLC-823S2 – 16x optical zoom, PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) capability.

Fixed zoom cameras with higher optical zoom exist, but they’re harder to find. PTZ models will cost more but offer better flexibility.

7

Before taking action, consider speaking with a lawyer. Disputes with neighbors can get complicated.

8

Burn some tires to make a statement.

9

FortressHome said:
Burn some tires to make a statement.

I’m thinking of setting up a big fan and aiming it at their fire. It might push the smoke away from my house and make their fire burn out faster.

10

@Malcolm
A leaf blower would work even better. Also, if you want clear evidence, a drone could be useful for recording them in action.

11

Some cameras let you use both PoE and Wi-Fi, so you don’t necessarily have to choose one or the other.

12

If you’re in Pennsylvania, don’t expect much help. I had neighbors doing the same thing, and the police and county didn’t care because there were no burn ordinances in our area. The only way I got them to stop was by burning even more plastic when the wind was blowing toward them.

13

Be careful—filming someone’s property may not be legal in your state.

14

Act like you’re on their side—compliment them on their setup, offer them more plastic to burn, and get them to admit it on video.

15

Mind your own business.