SAUGUS — The town’s health department is urging businesses to invest in surveillance after a spate of illegal dumping activity.

Director of Public Health John Fralick told the Board of Health Monday night that the department has seen a number of illegal dumping activities across town, and increased surveillance could allow for “active tracking” as it occurs. The old COVID-19 testing site in the parking lot behind the Square One Mall has become a “haven” and “dumping ground” for people emptying “loads and loads” of trash, including mattresses and construction debris, Fralick said.

By encouraging businesses to invest in surveillance, the department aimed to nip the dumping activity in the bud. Fralick said would-be violators typically add on to piles of trash they might stumble upon.

The department has contacted Simon Properties, which oversees the mall, regarding the activity, and the company was aware of the situation.

“We’re going to be looking to invest in some sort of camera system back there,” Fralick said. “It’s kind of a derelict property to begin with, just with the old Sears and everything there.”

“We’re trying to just get them to at least provide some kind of surveillance back there,” he added, noting that the illegal dumping extended beyond just the former testing site to behind the Dicks Sporting Goods location at the mall.

The department is also asking Simon to restrict access to the lot. While Fralick said the area is coned off, potential violators have simply been moving the cones to access the dumping ground.

“There’s going to have to be more of a solid partition there,” he said. “We’re just attacking those as they come in. We’re trying to make sure everyone is doing the right thing.”

On Tuesday, a heap of trash could be seen in the area, with debris strewn about the snow-covered parking lot. Children’s ride-on toys, a vacuum cleaner, a foam mattress pad, a mattress, and chemical bottles were all visible in the garbage piles.