News Flash

Ellis County Fire Marshal

Tim Birdwell

109 S. Jackson, Suite 265 ۰ Waxahachie, TX 75165

Office (972) 825-5555 Fax (972) 825-5551

July 30, 2020

Dear Property Management Professional,

The purpose of this letter is to reach out to as many property managers as possible in an effort to reduce the quantity of materials illegally dumped in Ellis County.  We often find toys, furniture, clothing, old photographs, and other items that would come from an apartment, a house, yard, or garage.  After investigation we identify a person of interest and upon contact, we learn that they were evicted or simply just moved out and left the items for the landlord to deal with. 

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 365.012 “A person commits an offense if the person disposes or allows or permits the disposal of litter or solid waste at a place that is not an approved solid waste site.”  It is important to note that the definition of solid waste is very broad and includes everything in the example I provided. 

The fees charged by the local landfills vary but the minimum charges tend to range between $75.00 and $95.00.  This is important to you as a property manager because if your service provider is not charging you enough money to pay for labor charges and disposal costs, then the items you hired the vendor to remove are possibly ending up somewhere other than an approved solid waste site.  The vendor cannot take the items anywhere else for disposal, including his personal property or to other property that you may own.  The penalty for these offenses is dependent upon the weight or volume of materials dumped.  Any amount greater than 5 pounds or 5 gallons includes the possibility of going to jail. 

We are respectfully soliciting your assistance with this issue.  No one wants discarded items to end up in an unauthorized disposal site, creek, or alongside the roadway.  So please just ask your vendor where the items will be taken and make sure his fee is adequate.  Know who your vendor is.  Many landlords require dump receipts from landfills.  A reputable vendor will have no objection to these requests.