Prepared for: Valencia County Environmental Health Department

VALENCIA COUNTY:
ILLEGAL DUMPING
HOW BAD IS IT REALLY?
Image: Partners for a Clean New Mexico

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VALENCIA COUNTY: ILLEGAL
DUMPING
HOW BAD IS IT REALLY?
INTRODUCTION
As a general rule of thumb, we as a society are consumers. We constantly buy things
which come in packaging and with documentation that we do not use. We use items until
they are no longer usable. We empty packages of their contents. What are we to do with the
residual useless items, otherwise known as garbage? We throw it all away. Many people
dispose of their trash in a garbage bin, which is collected by the city or county for a fee and is
properly disposed of.
On the other side, many people choose to avoid paying fees or feel driving to the
dump is a great inconvenience and instead illegally dispose of trash where ever they see fit.
Throughout the entire state of New Mexico illegal dumping is a problem, but one of the most
notorious counties happens to be Valencia County (Ruiz 4). Take a leisurely drive anywhere
through Valencia County and you will quickly see there is a problem throughout the county.
Aside from general litter one very often will come across large expanses of desert that are
home to vast quantities of illegally disposed of garbage.
This report seeks to shed light on the severity of the illegal dumping problem across
Valencia County so that action may be taken to correct a growing problem that affects the
environment, the countys residents, and the visual appeal of the county overall.

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IN SHORT
Multiple news articles
can easily and quickly
be located on the
websites of KOAT,
KRQE, and KOB
regarding illegal
dumping in Valencia
County.
Many local residents
can quickly describe
the locations of
popular dumping
zones indicating a
well-known problem.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
To gain an understanding of the extent of the illegal dumping
problem in Valencia County, we followed this research plan:
1. Research the meaning
of illegal dumping.
2. Seek reports of the issue
through local news agencies.
3. Interview locals.
4. Physical inspection of
the county.
Step 1
To gain a thorough understanding of what illegal
dumping is the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) website was consulted for information on the matter.
Step 2
Research was conducted on the KOAT, KRQE, and KOB
news websites. These are the three primary broadcasting
stations in the area and were chosen for this reason.
Step 3
Local residents in Los Lunas, Peralta, Belen, and Las
Maravillas were interviewed and notes were taken on their

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experiences. This information was used to locate and identify primary illegal dumping zones.
Step 4
Using the information gathered from locals and news articles, physical trips were made
out to commonly known illegal dump zones to take a personal account of the severity of the
problem. Notes and pictures were taken for the record.
FINDINGS
Illegal Dumping Definition
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency describes illegal dumping as
the act of the disposal of garbage in
an improper or illegal manner (U.S. 1).
Primarily waste includes nonhazardous
materials which have been dumped to
avoid disposal fees or to avoid the time and effort required for proper disposal of these items.
Typically disposed of materials include:
Construction and Demolition waste (C&D) such as drywall, roofing shingles, lumber,
bricks, concrete, and siding
Abandoned automobiles, auto parts, and scrap tires
Appliances
Furniture
Yard waste (leaves, grass clippings, trimmed tree branches, etc.)
Household trash
Image: NM Environment Department

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Medical waste
Risks of Illegal Dumping
The improper disposal of these wastes carries many health risks to the community at large.
Large piles of trash create shelter and food sources for pests such as mice, cockroaches, and
other pests that are well-known for spreading diseases. Also, large piles of scrap tires hold
water from rains. This water is sheltered from the wind and elements and creates perfect
mosquito breeding conditions. Mosquitos carry various diseases such as malaria which can be
deadly if left untreated. The waste can also contaminate ground and surface water harming
both the environment and
county residents.
These dumpsites also post
physical harm risks to the
community and residents.
Oftentimes there are
protruding nails and sharp
edges found on waste that risk puncturing or cutting residents or their children who get near.
Also, piles of waste run the risk of fire through spontaneous combustion or arson. Finally, waste
can block drainage such as ravines, creeks, or culverts causing flooding.
Resident Involvement
With the community being negatively impacted it was easy to locate residents who were
acutely aware of the issue and vocal about it. A Los Lunas resident, Paula Freitag, readily
exclaims during her interview, You cannot escape it! The garbage is everywhere. Trash
begets trash. Ms. Freitag escorted us on a quick drive from her residence on the outskirts of El
Cerro Mission to a location just off Airport Road near Monzano Expressway.
You cannot escape it! The garbage is everywhere.
Trash begets trash.
Paula Freitag, Los Lunas resident

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This location is one of several nearby locations that Ms. Freitag and her father can readily
take you to. At this location, incredibly large piles of trash of all kinds can be found. You come
across used needles, tires, appliances, bags and bags of household trash, lumber, and
incredibly large amounts of broken glass. While driving to this location, through various side
streets, trash is literally all over the road. More than once we drove around objects in the road
that caused us to either veer off the road or into oncoming traffic to avoid the obstruction.
According to Ms. Freitag and other residents the trash problem is so severe that it really
dampens the community morale. Theres so much trash people dont see the point in
keeping their yards nice. Our property values drop because of the state of the community.
People dont clean anything up! Whats the point? Said Nicholas Troupe, a Las Maravillas
resident.

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Diverted
3%
Collected
67%
Recycled
4%
Leftover
26%
SOLID WASTE
Figures
According to the New Mexico Environment Departments Solid Waste Bureau, Valencia
County is one of the top waste producers in the state of New Mexico, producing 87,884.07
tons of solid waste in 2012 with 58,611.36 tons of this waste being generated municipally. 4.31%
of waste was recycled. Only 2.98% of solid waste was successfully diverted for 2012. Waste
diversion is the prevention and reduction of generated waste through source reduction,
recycling, reuse, or composting (NM).
CONCLUSIONS
SOURCE: NM ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT SOLID WASTE DIVISION

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The illegal dumping problem in Valencia County has
reached a tipping point. A simple drive down many of the streets
through the county will quickly bring the problem into
perspective. There are multiple well-known sites strewn through
the county from Belen up to the Isleta reservation where illegal
dumping occurs regularly. These sites are quite literally illegal,
above-ground, unmanaged, and out of control landfills.
Community residents are beyond themselves at how to cope
with the problem. According to some residents, its affecting
their property values making it harder for them to sell their homes
to move to cleaner locations. Prompt action should be taken to
correct this problem.

IN SHORT
Illegal dumping is:
Negatively
affecting property
values
Causing citizens to
relocate
Creating
dangerous roads
Posing health risks
to community
residents

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WORKS CITED
NM Environment Department Solid Waste Division. Calendar Year 2012 Waste Generation and
Management in New Mexico. Albuquerque: NM Environment Department Solid Waste
Division, n.d. PDF.
Ruiz, Regina. "Dump Site Cleanup Comes with Big Price Tag for Valencia County." KOAT
Albuquerque. N.p., 21 May 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.koat.com/news/dump-site-cleanup-comes-with-big-price-tag-for-
valencia-county/26086214>.
U.S. EPA Region 5. Illegal Dumping Prevention Guidebook. Chicago, Illinois: Waste, Pesticides
and Toxins Division, 1998. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.epa.gov/region5/waste/illegal_dumping/downloads/il-dmpng.pdf>.