Desert trash in Las Vegas area is a problem

A small number of volunteers spent the better part of Sept. 9 cleaning up the BLM part of the desert near our neighborhood. In addition to the usual dumping of bottles and Styrofoam food containers, we found mattresses, construction trash, car parts and at least four television sets that had been shattered. In three hours, the five of us collected over 40 cubic yards of garbage.

In discussing “why” this was happening, it became apparent that the accountable people are you. If you choose to use an unlicensed contractor to do remodeling, or an unlicensed cleaning service for your rental property, or an unlicensed landscaper, you are responsible. These unlicensed individuals will lead you to believe that they dispose of the waste properly, but there is a good chance that they won’t. It’s cheaper and easier to drive to the nearest desert access and dump the waste.

We found car parts — not sure why there were there, but clearly a mechanic decided that it was easier to drive to the desert and dispose of the parts than to drive to a dump and pay a few dollars and discard of them properly.

Licensed contractors and vendors are not willing to lose their licenses by improper disposal. But the unlicensed have nothing to lose and will gain a few extra dollars by not having to pay the disposal fees.

Be a responsible desert dweller. Leave it better than you found it.