Rep. Carl Robinson from Northeast El Paso said illegal dumping has been a problem for years. City crews recently tried to clean up a huge patch of desert, but one month later, it was full of trash once again. Robinson said the biggest culprits who leave trash and debris are nearby residents as well as local construction and auto shops.

"You have to catch them in the act for the most part, and that's the challenge.," Robinson said. "We know that people are dumping illegally, but catching them is the other challenge."

Wednesday morning, Robinson encouraged discussion from several different state and city departments, including the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality.

"It all comes down to convenience and money," said Pamela Aguirre, a representative from the TCEQ. "When it's a private citizen that's moving from his house to a new house or to an apartment and they don't want to take that couch, they just dump it in the desert because it's easy and it's close."

But that illegal dumping is costing the city of El Paso thousands of dollars in cleanup costs, according to Ellen Smythe, Director of Environmental Services for the city of El Paso.

Smythe said the cost to pick up something as small as a couch or mattress runs around $25. However, the cost to clean up a whole patch of trashed desert can cost taxpayers as much as $10,000 or more.

For residents that witness illegal dumping, officials encourage residents to report it. They told KFOX-14 to try and get a description, a license plate number and, if possible, a picture or video. TCEQ representatives said the police will use that as evidence.

"In order for them to have a crime, they have to have a suspect," Aguirre said. "A picture says a thousand words."

To report illegal dumping, call the El Paso Police Department nonemergency line at 915-832-4400

For those residents who would like to properly dispose of debris such as old couches, mattress, tires, etc., please take a water bill and the trash to any of the following Citizen Drop-Off Collection sites:

4501 Hondo Pass 2492 Harrison 1034 Pendale 4200 Delta 121 Atlantic

Those stations are open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

For more information on illegal dumping or disposing properly of your trash, please call 915-621-6700.