Illegal dumping is causing concern in the desert outside Buckeye, where dead livestock and other large items have been found discarded.
ABC15 went to the Rainbow Valley area, where people are treating the empty desert as a landfill for not only common trash but also larger items like boats and even deceased animals.
Tammy Johnson, a Buckeye resident, says she has been seeing dead horses around her neighborhood and that it is a traumatic and regular occurrence. She also says posts about dead animals are all over West Valley Facebook groups.
"It's all the time," Johnson said. "In the area of the community we live in you can't go out anywhere past the neighborhood and you find them anywhere."
Peggy Reed, a dead-stock hauler, noted that people often assume wildlife will take care of the remains.
"They think that, you know, coyotes or something, I'll go ahead and remove it, but they don't. They leave a mess," Reed said. "And if I was out there riding in the desert, that desert all around me, you know, and I came across that as much as I do this every single day. You know, I don't want to see somebody's deceased animal out there."
Do you have a concern in your community or a news tip? We want to hear from you!
Connect with us: share@abc15.com
The cost to work with a professional dead-stock hauler is typically about $300, or individuals can dispose of animals at a landfill themselves. Illegal dumping is a crime, and Maricopa County has a hotline for reporting such activities outside city limits.
Maricopa County officials say they have received two complaints of dead animals in the area of Rainbow Valley over the past four months.
One incident involved three dead animals in the trash and the other incident involved a dead dog on the property. In both cases, the county removed the animals and surrounding trash.
Residents are encouraged to report illegal dumping to local authorities to help address the issue and maintain the cleanliness of the desert areas.
Illegal dumping outside of city limits can be reported online or by calling 602-506-6616. Illegal dumping on public rights-of-way can be reported to the county's Department of Transportation at 602-506-DUMP.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
