The Central Citizen Collection Station on Harrison Avenue is one of five drop-off yards the El Paso Environmental Services Department runs for householders, and it is the most convenient of them for anyone living in the older neighbourhoods around Government Hill, Five Points and the medical centre district.

Using it costs nothing if you are on the city's residential trash programme — the grey bin at the kerb is the test, and the charge is already folded into your monthly El Paso Water bill. There is now an extra step that catches people out: the department requires a pass, requested in advance online through its Environmental Services portal. Turning up without one may mean turning round again, so sort it before you load the car.

At the gate you must show a current water bill together with photo identification carrying the same address. What staff verify is the property address, not whose name sits on the utility account, so a household member's bill will serve. That rule applies to everyone, serving military personnel and veterans included, and businesses and contractors are barred outright regardless of what paperwork they bring.

The single biggest restriction is that no construction or demolition material of any kind is taken here, whether it came from a householder's own remodelling job or from a commercial site. Beyond that, each address gets four visits a month; paint and motor oil are limited to five gallons apiece over the same period; and any trailer must be single-axle and no longer than eight feet. What the yard will take is household rubbish, bulky items, household hazardous waste, recyclables, tyres and electronics. Opening is 8am to 4pm Tuesday through Saturday, with the site shut on New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. Wind, rain or snow can shut the yard without warning; 915-212-6000 is the number to try if conditions look poor.