Illegal Dumping is a Source of Concern for Weslaco Resident
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WESLACO - A Weslaco man said he is waiting for the city to take action on an illegal dumpsite.
Ricardo Teo lives two blocks away from an alley. He said piles of trash and wet paint blocks access to the path.
“It doesn’t look nice, it looks bad to the community,” he said. “I see tires. I see a lot of things everywhere in all the alleys.”
Teo called the city of Weslaco to report the site. Weslaco Planning and Code Enforcement health official Joe Pedraza said they can’t determine when the trash was dumped.
He said enforcement officers investigated the scene and cleared it up. But Teo said it’s not enough.
“I would like for Weslaco to have signs on front that says city ordinance,” the resident said.
Pedraza said they already placed signs in well-known problematic areas.
“To have a “No Dumping” sign in a particular area, it’s kind of hard. They have to evaluate it first,” he explained. “In that particular area, those are alleys so people are allowed to throw some debris out there that public services will pick up.”
Pedraza, however, agreed with Teo. He said disposing other items may cause the city to lose out on other services in the general budget.
“I know we had done a cost on a property we’re having issues with and to get a particular property cut. It was full of tires, and just to get rid of tires the cost can go up to $40,000 to $50,000,” he said.
The code enforcement officer said they found the owner of the property and took him to court. He said others may also be held accountable if they’re found illegally dumping or neglecting their property.
If a person is caught illegally dumping, they could face a fine of up to $1,000.
Weslaco Code Enforcement sent the following list of acceptable items for pick-up services:
- Tree limbs
- Shrubs
- Grass and leaves
- Furniture like table and chairs
- Mattresses
- Washers, dryers and water heaters
The city of Weslaco will also be having a clean sweep for all items to be dumped properly on April 29 at the Cavazos Park from 8 to 11 a.m.
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