Lower Valley pecan shell drop off

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)-- Today, is the last day for Socorro and Mission Valley residents to drop off their pecan shells. The pecan shells are the primary food source for the red flour beetle.

ABC-7 spoke to Commissioner Iliana Holguin who told us that so far they have collected over 217 tons from the Fabens and Tornillo school districts.

Those numbers don't include the Socorro drop off site.

"We're still filling those bins. We won't get the number until we actually go to the landfill to dispose of them. We also, have some other areas that were identified as problematic areas there in the Socorro, area that we're collecting those shells as well," Holguin said.

The Department of Agriculture gave El Paso County a $30,000 grant to help with the removal of pecan shells. Holguin tells me they've created initiatives to get the community involved including the drop off site.

"Tornillo ISD had over 117 tons of shells on their properties, so we helped remove those. Fabens ISD had about 100 tons of broken shells on their school properties, so we were able to help them remove those," Holguin told ABC-7.

The city of Socorro established an ordinance that bans you from using pecan shells for any purpose.

If you do use pecan shells you could face up a $500 fine.