Central El Paso residents want restrictions on where dumpsters can be placed

Some Central El Paso residents want the City to forbid the placement of dumpsters on public streets and sidewalks.

Currently, the dumpsters, which usually service old apartment buildings in older neighborhoods are placed in alleys or the front street of the building.

“We want to represent El Paso in a clean way and it’s a good thing we have dumpsters but they can be moved so the neighborhood doesn’t look tacky,” said resident Jacqueline Castro.

“Authorization must be provided by the City, and a fee must be paid, for a dumpster to be placed on the public street. The current fee is $72 per container, per year,” wrote City Spokesman Daniel Marin in an email.

The problem is especially prominent in Sunset Heights, where disposal companies and dumpster owners say some alleys are too narrow for a truck to pick up a dumpster.

“The Sunset Heights area has space limitations and many of the private properties do not have room for dumpsters,” wrote Marin.

Sunset Heights Neighborhood Improvement Association President Leah Osborne said the association has in the past tried to work with city officials to find a better solution to the space problem.

The dumpsters take up on-street parking space and are unsightly and stinky, according to some residents. Osborne said 10 years ago, the association made a map showing all the locations with unsightly dumpsters but nothing changed after the association took it to city officials.

Randy Park, who walks his dog in the neighborhood every day is more understanding. “They don’t bother me. You have to understand. They have to take out the trash and there’s nowhere else to put them.”

Other neighbors have suggested private property owners of apartment buildings build cubby holes in front of their properties for the dumpsters to minimize their visibility.

Marin said the city was unaware of prior efforts to remove the dumpsters but is open to suggestions from residents.