An open record of dumping on public land

Who runs this

TrashMap is built and run by Eli Gorelick, an independent project based in Nevada. It's not affiliated with the BLM or any government agency. Questions, corrections, and takedown requests go to eligorelick01@gmail.com.

For an active crime or any emergency, call 911. For hazardous material — chemicals, drums, sharps, asbestos — call the National Response Center 1-800-424-8802. TrashMap forwards nothing to any agency; the reporting number for each land manager is in the footer of every page.

How it works

1. 01

   Someone files a report

   Anyone who finds illegal dumping adds a photo, marks where it is on the map, picks a severity, and writes a short description. No account, no cost.

2. 02

   It goes live right away

   Every report shows up on the public map and gallery right away. Nothing is screened beforehand, so the map reflects what people are actually finding.

3. 03

   The community marks sites cleaned

   When a volunteer hauls a site out, they mark it cleaned and attach an after-photo of the work. The report — with its before and after photos — then moves to the cleaned-up archive. These are community reports, not independently verified.

What the severity levels mean

Reporters pick one of four levels. They're kept simple on purpose, so they're easy to choose on the spot.

Minor

Small, scattered litter a single person could carry out.

Moderate

A visible dumpsite — bags, furniture, or household waste.

Severe

Truckload-scale dumping or clear environmental damage.

Hazardous

Chemicals, sharps, asbestos, or other dangerous materials.

Data and privacy

Every report includes a photo, a latitude and longitude, a severity, a description, and an optional place name and reporter name. It's all public on purpose and released under CC0 1.0 (public domain), so anyone can download, analyze, and republish it freely — as CSV or GeoJSON, with the field schema and the dataset's limitations documented alongside it. Because reports go live instantly with no review, treat this as a record of what people are reporting — not an official government count. We don't screen reports before they post; we look into them when someone flags one, and take down anything with private information or clear abuse — see our privacy policy and terms.

Who it's for

Land managers & agencies

BLM, Forest Service, and state and county staff can see where dumping is worst and decide where to focus patrols and cleanups.

Journalists & researchers

The whole dataset is open (CC0) and downloadable as CSV or GeoJSON — photos, coordinates, severity, and dates, free to analyze and republish.

Volunteers & stewards

Cleanup crews and Leave No Trace groups can find nearby sites, plan hauls, and mark sites cleaned once they're done.