City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County Layout Next Steps for Illegal Dumping Partnership
February 25, 2021
Today, Mayor Tim Keller, City Councilor Klarissa Peña, Bernalillo County Commission Vice Chair Steven Michael Quezada, along with Council President Cynthia Borrego, and Councilors Lan Sena and Diane Gibson, spoke about the Illegal Dumping Partnership and plans for educating the public about the serious problem of illegal dumping to find ways to make this initiative move forward. The site of today’s press conference, near the University of New Mexico’s baseball stadium, was cleaned three months ago and was already filled with large amounts of illegally dumped trash.
Numerous agencies are partnering to educate City and County residents about ways to get rid of their refuse and discourage illegal dumping. The partnership will begin a campaign this spring that will include TV and radio ads to encourage residents to keep Albuquerque clean and beautiful by using services that are already in place, like scheduling large item pick up using 311 and dropping trash at the City and County convenience centers:
- Eagle Rock Convenience Center – 6301 Eagle Rock NE
- Don Reservoir Convenience Center – 117 114th SW
- Montessa Park Convenience Center – 3512 Los Picaros SE
- East Mountain Transfer Station (County) – 711 Highway 333
County Commissioners and City Councilors have who have identified funding to help launch the campaign are Commission Vice Chair Quezada, Commissioner Adriann Barboa, Commissioner Debbie O’Malley, Council President Borrego, Councilor Peña, Councilor Sena, Councilor Gibson, Councilor Brook Bassan, and Councilor Trudy Jones.
“The Illegal Dumping Partnership is in the process of raising support to launch a public outreach campaign to address illegal dumping,” says BernCo Commission Vice Chair Steven Michael Quezada. “We want the community to be more aware of the huge problem that illegal dumping has become in our county and city.”
“With the help of our partners, plus city and county funds, we hope to make the public more aware of the problems of illegal dumping in our area,” says Albuquerque City Councilor Klarissa Peña. “As with any initiative like this one, the more the public knows, the more likely they will be to want to be a part of the solution.”
The Illegal Dumping Partnership (IDP) is a multi-agency task force founded to help combat illegal dumping throughout Bernalillo County. The partners include Bernalillo County, City of Albuquerque, Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Water Authority, NM Environment Department, Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD), Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority (AMAFCA), Bernalillo County Sheriff Department, Albuquerque Police Department, Albuquerque Public Schools (APS), PNM, NM Department of Transportation, MRCOG, West Central Community Development Group (WCCDG), NM United Soccer, and Central NM Community College (CNM).
The partners of the Illegal Dumping Partnership clean up more than 1,250 tons of junk and rubbish from public spaces on an annual basis. Materials typically include construction and demolition waste, abandoned automobiles, auto parts and scrap tires, appliances, furniture, yard waste and household trash.