Illegal dumping in Las Cruces raises concerns

Las Cruces resident JJ Castañeda posted a video on Facebook Thursday showing syringes dumped on empty property in the city.

The syringes were reportedly dumped on empty private property, about a square mile off Mesa Grande and Peachtree Road in Northeast Las Cruces.

ABC-7 visited the area and did not find any syringes, but there was other trash dumped in the area: furniture, fabric and roofing material.

With some trash being sharp, and syringes being a potential biological hazard, the City said it takes a lot of work to clean up trash like this. They ask people to try their best to report illegal dumping.

“I would say nine times out of ten we don’t have a witness, that makes it very difficult to enforce. So, if anybody sees anything out of the ordinary, especially in these outskirts of the city where it’s very easy for people to dump, if people just call us when they see it to get a description of the vehicle or people doing it, it can help. License plates are the best thing, if they can get that,” said James Chavez, the Las Cruces

Las Cruces residents can report illegal dumping by calling dispatch at (575) 526-0795 or downloading the official Ask Las Cruces app to report issues, available both on the Apple App Store and from Google Play.