Council approves ordinance requiring dumpster locks
By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor
In an effort to reduce dumpster fires, illegal dumping, and public safety hazards, the Gallup City Council approved an ordinance to amend a city code regarding public dumpsters.
City Attorney Dave Eason, Gallup Fire Chief Jon Pairett, and Solid Waste Director Adrian Marrufo presented the new ordinance during the Sept. 9 city council meeting. The new ordinance requires that all trash containers two yards in size or larger be locked at all times when not in use by the owner of the served property.
The locks cost about $60 a piece. Marrufo said the city would replace the locks for the businesses for free if they get damaged.
Eason said the change addresses longstanding problems with unauthorized access to commercial waste containers.
“On six occasions in the past year, I’ve been informed of reports and near misses of people getting inside the containers,” he said. “In two cases, those people were actually dumped into trash trucks. Of course, they can be seriously injured or killed.”
Pairett told the council that the fire department responded to 20 dumpster fires in the past year.
“The problem with the dumpster fires is when they’re burning the lids are made out of plastic, so most of the time the lids are destroyed,” Pairett said. “The paint is blistered and a lot of the decals are destroyed.”
It costs the city about $500 to replace the lid and decals and repaint each dumpster.
If law enforcement figures out who caused the fire, or if a business intentionally sets their own dumpster on fire, then they pay the price. But if it’s undetermined who set the dumpster on fire, the city eats the cost.
Requiring locks would also cut down on the amount of unhoused people who seek out shelter during colder months.
Illegal dumping poses another problem.
“If you just drive around town, especially on some of the commercial streets, you’ll see that after business hours, [the dumpsters’ lids] are closed, and there’s not a lot of trash on the ground,” Pairett said. “[But] then you come the next morning and those dumpsters are overflowing.”
The council unanimously approved the ordinance with a 3-0 vote. Councilor Ron Molina, Dist. 4, was absent from the meeting due to illness.
“I think it’s a good project,” Councilor Sarah Piano, Dist. 3, said. “I’m assuming you guys will have a lot of education to the businesses around why we’re doing this, and I would hope that most businesses would find this to be a positive impact for their business.”
