Dumping in an El Paso County right of way is a Public Works call

A pile of trash tossed along a road makes the whole stretch feel neglected, even when the mess landed in the public right of way rather than on anyone’s lot. Dumping trash is illegal, and the responsibility for cleaning it up does not fall on the nearest property owner just because it is nearest.

In El Paso County, the Highway Division of Public Works removes trash that is illegally dumped in the county right of way once someone reports it. The crew needs two things to act: the location, and the type of trash. A mattress on a rural shoulder, a load of construction debris at a trail pullout, and a dumped appliance near a drainage edge each get handled differently.

Jurisdiction decides who can clear it. Trash in a county right of way goes to the county, while a pile on private land or a city street belongs on a different report path. A few feet can change the responsible office.

Identify where the trash sits before filing the report. For a county right of way, use the county service-request path and pin the location as precisely as possible. Private property or a city street needs the owner or code-enforcement office for that jurisdiction.