Illegally dumped waste ranges from a bag of trash somebody throws in a borrow ditch to hundreds of thousands of dumped tires, and everything in between. Sometimes when businesses fail, they leave dangerous waste behind, such as half-full barrels of waste chemicals. But, big or small, illegal dumping creates health risks, lowers property values and is expensive to clean up later.

Fortunately, the state legislature has provided us with the criminal laws we need to stop illegal dumping and burning. What remains is their application in our own communities.

Our purpose is to provide local governments and citizens in Texas the tools they need to help control or even eliminate illegal dumping and illegal burning in their communities.

TIDRC provides two primary resources for local community professionals to address these issues: On-site classes and seminars for professionals and elected officials on how to control illegal dumping and burning in their communities; and, books and other resource materials on the subject (our Local Control of Illegal Dumping, Texas 2008 Edition, has become the most widely-used handbook on the subject in Texas).