East Valley Community Clean-Up Underway
THERMAL – Illegal dumping is a big problem in rural parts of the Coachella Valley, but on Saturday that problem got a little smaller. Dozens of volunteers participated in a clean-up, in the Vista Santa Rosa Community.
Organizers say, many people don’t know where to dump bulk items, so they end up throwing them in fields. This is illegal and can result in fines over a thousand dollars and felony charges.
On Saturday crews worked from 6:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. and they threw out more than 50 tons of waste, but there’s still a lot more to do.
“There is too much to do in a day,” says Betty Sanchez, Riverside County Code Enforcement. “It would take crews and crews to clean here, but we are getting there slowly. Hopefully homeowners get involved and maintain their property and clean up a little here and there. Then it will be a lot less burdensome on the community.”
Riverside County holds clean-ups every month. If you’d like to volunteer, call Betty Sanchez at 760-275-8242. To find the nearest legal dumping site/landfill, call Burrtec at 760-340-2113.
