Baja California and especially the border region often unfortunately serve as dumping grounds for Southern California. Materials that should be recycled or properly disposed of are instead shipped to Mexico where proper treatment is unlikely. The following are some brief highlight listing of problems related to toxics and trash issues:
- Mexico is generally lacking of hazardous waste materials treatment facilities (especially in the industrialized border region).
- Illegal disposal of used US-origin tires. Used tires returned in the US must pay a disposal fee, which is often used to pay Mexican tire haulers to truck tires to Mexico. They cross the border, not as waste but as used tires to be given further life in Mexico. While this sometimes is the case for the short remaining life on the tires, they quickly find their way to gullies and other inappropriate disposal sites. Among other results have been large long-lived tire stockpile fires that cause serious air and water quality problems.
- Resale of US-origin used appliances, creating inefficient use of electricity.
- Resale of US-origin used cars, creating a higher polluting fleet.
- Border crossing trucks - older Mexican fleet, more polluting - but is a free trade issue.
- Relocation of Los Angeles furniture industry to Tijuana where its use of glues and solvents will not conflict with air quality restrictions.
- US- origin Cruise ships. Floating cities of pollution.
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