09-04-2025
Travis County Sheriff's Office discusses illegal dumping concerns & dangers
TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Across Travis County, you can find different areas with tires, trash and mattresses piling up.
The Travis County Sheriff's Office said it's responding to more illegal dumping cases as the area grows. Environmental Detective Carlton Brown said no part of the county is immune to it.
'Dumping happens in the west side, the east side, north, south,' Brown said. 'It can grow really rapidly.'
Brown investigates these types of cases.
'Illegal dumping is basically the disposal, or allowing someone to dispose of hazardous waste or solid waste on your property or anywhere else that's not authorized as a waste site.'
Travis County Sheriff's Office Environmental Detective Carlton Brown
Brown said these dumps can pose multiple environmental and safety dangers to the public, especially with dry conditions across the area.
'If an accidental fire starts, then it becomes a very big problem for the fire department,' Brown said. 'We don't know what, what's in there, what could be burning.'
The penalties for illegal dumping can range, the detective said. He said it can range from a Class C Misdemeanor, all the way up to a state jail felony.
When it comes to cleaning up an area, Brown said it depends where it's located.
'If it's on private property, it becomes incumbent on the person that owns that property to clean it up,' Brown said.
Travis County Natural Resources will help clean up if it's on the side of a maintained county road.
Brown said a lot of their information about illegal dumping comes from the community. He encourages people to reach out if they see anything.
'A vehicle license plate, the suspect information,' Brown said. 'If they can get a description of what they're throwing away, what they're wearing, what they're driving, all those kinds of things.'
In January, KXAN reported on a property in southern Travis County located near the intersection of Dee Gabriel Collins Road and McKinney Falls Parkway.
'It's disrespectful': Travis County property being used as dump site
A neighbor, who asked to hide their identity, said none of the trash was there three and a half years ago.
'It's disrespectful. It's not the way to live in Texas,' the neighbor said. 'I mean, it shouldn't be happening.'
At the time, KXAN contacted the property owner. The Kentucky-based LLC said it would look into the issue.
KXAN visited the site again on Tuesday, and the tires and mattresses were still there. We reached out again to the property owner to get an update, and are waiting to hear back.
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