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Recycling Connections: Clean-up efforts leave the Chaparral area ‘green’

By Esmeralda Almanza and Suzanne Michaels

Omar Miranda cleans up illegal dumping in the desert near Chaparral. (Courtesy photos)

Omar Miranda and Joshua De La Rosa spent the weekend picking up construction debris and trash.

The next time you visit the Chaparral area by the old Borrow Pit, take a minute to look around. It is now the perfect desert landscape with mountains rising in the background. This area once again is starting to look like undisturbed desert thanks to the efforts of the Bureau of Land Management and the South Central Solid Waste Authority.

Last weekend, BLM arranged the manpower, the SCSWA provided the roll-off container (large trash bin), and in they went to clean up after illegal dumping. “We’ve got one full-time BLM employee and five youth cleaning up the area,” said Tom Phillips, supervisor for Recreation and Cultural Resources at the BLM.

In 2008, the BLM and several New Mexico agencies and organizations joined together to sign the “Restore the Enchantment” strategic plan, and noted: All New Mexicans are affected by illegal dumping; it causes significant negative impacts to public health and safety, the environment, water quality, aesthetics and our economy.

Starting this past weekend and continuing through the end of September, the BLM will be cleaning up in the southern portion of Do-a Ana County around the Anthony Gap. “Today we’re cleaning the Chaparral area by the old Borrow Pit and it will probably take around three to four days because the waste is scattered. There isn’t just a dumping spot were we can just find a pile and pick it up. It’s all over,” Phillips said. “We will also clean the Sierra Vista Recreation trail.”

The six people cleaning up the area every weekend of this month have their hands full. “This is a very big job, which is why we hired people to work on it. It’s just too big and too much for it to be on a volunteer basis,” Phillips said. “We meet Saturdays and Sundays at around 7:30 in the morning and we come back to the office at around 4:30 p. m.”

The areas being cleaned up are usually used for recreational shooting and picnic outings so there are a lot of bullet cases and beer bottles. “We mostly find a lot of bottle targets and paper targets, but we’ve also found tires and counter tops. It looks like someone remodeled, hauled their waste out here and just left it,” Phillips said.

If you see someone dumping illegally, please call (575) 526-0795. According to Joe Padilla, Do-a Ana County Codes Enforcement officer, helpful information would be:

• a description of the vehicle,

• a license plate number if possible, and

• the area where the dumping is occurring.

Your tax dollars are being spent to clean up illegal dumping. Last weekend, the BLM filled an entire 40-yard roll-off container with construction debris and trash left behind by people target shooting and enjoying desert picnics. It’s important to clean the trash for many reasons, but mostly because when people see the garbage others have left behind, they think it’s okay to leave their garbage. BLM’s Tom Phillips notes, “we will continue cleaning, we want to make it real obvious that we were here.”

Thank you for reporting illegal dumping, and thank you for recycling! If you have recycling questions, please visit our website at TheScrappyPages.com or call the SCSWA at (575) 528-3800.

Recycling Connections is submitted by Suzanne Michaels, Education and Public Outreach, for the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA) named 2010 Solid Waste Authority of the Year by the New Mexico Recycling Coalition. The SCSWA is the city/county agency responsible for managing solid waste and recycling in Las Cruces and Do-a Ana County.

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