ECTOR COUNTY, Texas — So far in 2024, the Ector County Environmental Enforcement received nearly 180 citizen calls about concerns over furniture, tires, motor oil and more being dumped on locations that are not permitted as landfills, according to Jesse Garcia, the assistant director of the Ector County Environmental Enforcement (ECEE).
"We'd rather work with the community and say, 'Let's figure out how we can get through the trash...,'" Garcia said. "We're not just cops that are out here trying to arrest everybody. We're just trying to get some compliance."
The ECEE is pushing for the community to join the effort in taking aim against illegal dumping.
"You'd be surprised how many people voice their issue with having people dump trash on their property and all of a sudden they start to network with others going through the same thing," Garcia said. "One piece of information can lead to another."
Garcia said reports of illegal dumping can be made by contacting the sheriff's department. Reports can be made anonymously. They can also be submitted online on the ECEE Facebook page.
Garcia said he believes the current rate of the calls and cases of illegal dumping are due to an influx of population. He said the majority of the calls are from the west and southern parts of Ector County because they're larger areas.
According to Garcia, the items being dumped raise concerns over health and safety issues. Two of these concerns has to do with solid trash or sewage that's illegally dumped contaminating water and damaging the environment.
Illegal dumping penalties are measured by the weight or volume of the disposed trash.