Another clip from the Oct 8th Public Safety Townhall, this time Oakland Public Works (OPW) sharing how they are beginning to develop “proactive” strategies to address illegal trash dumping.
The design and maintenance of our physical environments is a big component of public safety, many public comments at the townhall addressed this. Staff from OPW shared that in the last ten years, they have tripled the amount of service they do to clean-up illegal dumping, they now respond to 30,000 calls yearly for illegal dumping. They are picking up more than they ever have and faster than they ever have, and yet it’s been difficult to keep up with the amount of servicing required.
As a result, they are recognizing that they need to develop proactive strategies other than simply picking up at the end of the process. Some of the ways they are doing this is by offering bulky trash pickup. Any renter or property owner can schedule a pickup. There is also a site in East Oakland that is open for monthly drop-offs and they are beginning to roll out weekly neighborhood pickups.
The weekly neighborhood pickups require a consistent community partner. If you are a community organization that can host a weekly pick-up, please reach out to OPW.
Not in this video, but a great question from an attendee was how can those who are unhoused access trash pickups when they don’t have an address? OPW shared that they recognize this equity barrier and are researching methods that they can roll out an address program for unhoused residents.
And as always, if you notice illegal dumping in your neighborhood, you can call 311 and report the location for servicing.
