Buried in Trash: Facebook Constable Digs into Waste Issue

by Charlotte Kovalchuk • photos courtesy Paul Leal

The number one thing Constable Paul Leal gets asked when he is out and about is not typical citizen questions like how much money he has collected or how many arrest warrants he has served. Instead, people want to know if there are any updates on the latest trash mystery. “It’s always, ‘Hey did you find that person that dumped that jacuzzi?’ ‘Hey y’all ever figure out who put that roof there?’ ”

Known as the Facebook Constable, Constable Leal has become famous for the videos he posts when ever he comes across a trash heap dumped on the side of the road. He has taken to Facebook to seek the public’s help in catching the cul prits, with some videos reaching more than one million views and helping his team combat the waste issue so prevalent in Precinct 4.

CONSTABLE CLEANUP CRUSADE

When Constable Leal took office in 2020, he was faced with a widespread illegal dumping issue in Precinct 4 due to its large size—89 percent unincorporated area—and lack of code enforcement. In 2019, Williamson County Road and Bridge and the Texas Department of Transportation collected 658 tons of roadside debris in the precinct that cost more than $1 million in cleanup costs.

It inspired Constable Leal to launch You Dump It, You Clean It – an initiative that gives first-time offenders the chance to clean up their trash in exchange for a reduced charge. Illegal dumping – discarding trash that weighs more than five pounds at a place not approved as a solid waste site – is a Class B misdemeanor with a fine of up to $2,000 and up to six months of jail time. But thanks to You Dump It, You Clean It, that charge may be reduced to a Class C misdemeanor with a lower fine and no jail time if the offender confesses to the crime and cleans it up.

The initiative is so important, Constable Leal says, because for rural residents especially, illegal dumping is more than just an eyesore; it’s a hazard for equipment and animals. “When you deal with a farmer who says an illegal dump cost him over $75,000 to get his combine fixed after sucking in trash and breaking the equipment, that is a big deal. When you talk to someone who lost cows because they ate trash, got sick, and died . . . That’s why we’re so aggressive about it. We’re not going to stop because the people of Williamson County, of Precinct 4, are fed up with it.”

DON’T MESS WITH PRECINCT 4

In an effort to enlist the public’s help in tracking down illegal dumping violators, Constable Leal began posting videos of his trash hunting journey. One that received 10 million views on TikTok showed him holding taco wrappers and asking, “Did you hire a roofer that ate breakfast tacos on the job?”

Together, his videos over the past two years and the You Dump It, You Clean It campaign have succeeded in reducing illegal dumping from 658 tons to 218 tons. The 80 cameras they were able to purchase thanks to grants from the Capital Area Council of Governments have also helped. “It’s been highly successful, to the point that the Commissioners Court has seen the cost-saving effects of it. As a result, during the last two budget cycles, they have given us [funds for] an environmental unit consisting of five deputies,” Constable Leal says.

His team’s efforts have made it clear that if people plan to illegally dump, they shouldn’t do it in Precinct 4. One response Constable Leal typically gets to his posts is, “I see your videos, I knew you would catch him.” Or from a friend of an offender: “I told him don’t dump it in Precinct 4, that you guys would catch him!”

Check out Constable Leal’s trash hunting journey on his Facebook page.