Oakland officials have outlined a fresh drive to tackle illegal dumping in East Oakland, including the use of drones to identify hotspots, tougher financial penalties and additional environmental enforcement officers.
Mayor Barbara Lee and other city leaders discussed the measures at a public meeting attended by residents and community organisations, as frustration continues over the amount of rubbish left on neighbourhood streets.
Oakland illegal dumping plan includes drones and tougher fines
The city’s new approach includes aerial technology to help locate dumping sites and an ordinance designed to increase fines for those responsible. Officials said the measures are intended to improve enforcement as well as speed up the removal of waste.
Ms Lee said the city had hired more environmental officers, a move she described as essential in cases where prosecutors are seeking felony convictions.
“We hired more environmental officers, which is extremely important because in order to get a felony conviction we have to have environmental officers to be able to test for toxins and poisons,” she said.
The mayor also pointed to a partnership with Oakland Unified School District under which young people will be paid to help reduce the volume of rubbish, following a similar scheme last summer.
“We’re going to be able to pay young people, like we did last summer, to help us with reducing the volume of trash,” Ms Lee said.
Community groups involved in organising the meeting welcomed signs that the city was expanding its response. Arlington Tugwell, of Faith in Action East Bay, said investment in vehicles capable of removing large quantities of waste was important.
The Block by Block Organizing Network and Faith in Action East Bay were among the organisations involved in the forum.
Residents demand faster action on street rubbish
Residents told officials that the problem remained acute, despite the latest initiatives. Several said that rubbish was often removed only for fresh waste to appear in the same location soon afterwards.
Charity Griffin, who has lived in Oakland for 70 years, described the blight in her neighbourhood as the worst she had seen.
“I have people that are dumping stuff. We clean it up, they come back,” she said. “I call 311. They come clean it up, they bring it back, so it’s a hazard, it really is a hazard, yeah.”
Zora Hill warned that persistent piles of uncollected waste were creating risks for public health.
“You get rats, and rodents, and insects, infestations going on, and the people that hang around it too,” she said.
Alfredetta Ward said residents needed more workers dedicated to cleaning the city’s streets on a daily basis.
“We need more people to get out and clean Oakland up,” she said.
Oakland’s efforts could also receive support from Sacramento. A bill authored by Mia Bonta, the Assemblymember for District 18, and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom directs state funding towards removing abandoned recreational vehicles and strengthening illegal dumping enforcement.
