Hidalgo County Precinct 3 Deputy Constable Alvin Patina starts his day in his vehicle.
He patrols much of rural Hidalgo County looking for illegal dumping suspects.
"We're heading to one of our illegal dumping hotspots in the rural areas," said Patina.
Our Action 4 News cameras catch mounds of trash piled on the side of roads and even in the middle.
Patina said he continuously scopes out ‘illegal dumping’ sites on a daily basis. He said he hopes his presence will deter people from continuing to make these county roads their personal landfill.
"You have big chunks of glass, you have tires---you just never know what you will find in here," said Patina.
Most of the trash is out in the open, but there is much more covered by long grass.
Patina said that causes even more problems during fire season because it makes battling the blaze that much harder.
"You'll see the firemen driving into the burned area of a large acreage and the tires can get caught under their truck,” said Patina. “If they're walking in the grass they may trip over a tire or some boards."
Patina said just one illegally dumped tire can land you behind bars.
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