Land is filling up: Diné communities fight back against illegal dumping, burn pits
Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
Trash and debris fill a wash beneath a bridge in Tsayatoh, N.M., where household garbage, tires and furniture have accumulated over time. Illegal dumping remains a widespread problem across many Diné communities, where limited landfill access and inconsistent trash collection lead residents to discard waste in arroyos and the roadside.
CORTEZ, Colo.
From 1,000 feet up, the fissures in the landscape showed themselves in unexpected colors – not just the brittle tans of drought and the rust of eroded sandstone, but the matte blacks and sun-bleached grays of trash pits scattered near homes.
Along the edges of Red Mesa, Aneth, Montezuma Creek and Monument Valley, one could trace the wind by the way plastic bags knit themselves into fencelines and tumbleweeds. From the air, the lines connected: clusters of houses, a wash stuffed with refuse, a scorched circle where household garbage had been burned and left to smolder.
“This really gives us a starting point,” said Norman Laneman of Red Mesa, moments after the plane rolled to a stop. “An overhead view puts you on top of what we’re looking at and what we’re seeing. We want to amplify our communities, protect our grounds and provide solutions.”
To read the full article, please see the Nov. 6, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.
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Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow