Illegal dumping has been occurring on the BLM public lands for many years. State and Field Offices continue to encounter many illegal dumps within their jurisdictions. Such dump sites often encourage or engender additional illegal dumping in the same area, in what has come to be called “promiscuous dumps”. Illegal dumping involves mainly the dumping of solid waste such as white goods, yard wastes, household trash, vehicles, furniture, construction debris, and household hazardous waste. Illegal dumps are often created along rail roads, dirt roads, routes, and in the deserts.   Illegal dumps also pose a tempting opportunity to dispose of hazardous waste in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). A major type of hazardous waste found in illegal dumps is those generated by clandestine drug labs.

To prevent and reduce the occurrence of illegal waste dumping on the BLM public lands the Division of Engineering and Environmental Services provides the following recommendations for State and Field Offices to assist offices with their illegal waste dumping problems: