Illegal Dumping Is a Big Problem in Oakland. A New Report Has Ideas to Clean Up the Mess

Oakland’s illegal dumping problem has long vexed city officials.

And cleaning up the mess has become more expensive in recent years, costing the city nearly $14 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year — about $10 million more than the decade prior.

A new report from the city auditor offers suggestions for tackling the problem: by making legal waste removal more affordable and accessible, while increasing penalties and enforcement efforts against violators.

The report, published Thursday, noted that trash pickup rates are between 23%-40% higher than in neighboring jurisdictions, while penalties for violations are significantly lower than in other large cities in the Bay Area.

Ultimately, the report’s recommendations heavily focus on ramping up enforcement, including creating protocols for referring some cases to criminal investigators, expanding online 311 reporting to other languages and ensuring proper training for enforcement staff.

In the 2024-25 fiscal year, city crews with Keep Oakland Clean and Beautiful picked up over seven million pounds of illegally dumped trash, down from over 10 million the previous year, according to the report.

The report also noted that much of the illegal waste “appears to be largely residential in origin.”

“I’m well aware that we have unscrupulous contractors that dump in our city, people who don’t even live in Oakland dump in our city,” Oakland City Auditor Michael C. Houston said. “To learn that a lot of our illegal dumping problem is homegrown from residents dumping onto our public rights of way, that was a bit of a surprise.”

Residents and city officials alike agree that the problem is pervasive and particularly severe.

“I know that dumping is a huge quality-of-life concern in Oakland, and it drives away investment. It drives away business. It drives down people’s feelings about their community,” Councilmember Zac Unger said.

Andy Wang started picking up trash across the Bay Area roughly five years ago, out of boredom during the COVID-19 pandemic and inspired by online videos of others engaged in community service projects.

“I had to frequently drive on 580 across the Altamont Pass, and that place was covered in trash and bulky items,” Wang said. “It was just a sad sight to behold, because that’s one of the major highways that people take to come to the Bay Area, and I thought it’s an utter shame that this is how we’re greeting people, with trash.”

In the years since, Wang has spent countless hours picking up bagfuls of trash. He now runs social media accounts documenting his work and regularly organizes group cleanup events.

Wang said he believes the issue of illegal dumping in Oakland has gotten slightly better since he started his cleanup work, but he said that may not be true for every part of the city.

“I’ve also talked to other residents, especially those who live in certain parts of East Oakland; they’ve been telling me it’s getting worse,” Wang said.

To crack down on serial dumpers, Unger and Mayor Barbara Lee co-sponsored a local ordinance last month that would increase local fines and close loopholes that have allowed violators to escape penalties. Under the new policy, first-time offenses will incur a fine of $1,500, doubling to $3,000 for second offenses and $5,000 for every future offense.

Aside from punitive measures, the city could also pursue efforts to increase access for residents, Wang said.

“People that live in East Oakland tend to be more economically challenged … the fact that trash fees in Oakland are some of the highest in the Bay Area, it presents financial stress for these families,” Wang said.

The auditor’s report seems to support this with recommendations that the city offer subsidized service for low-income residents and either renegotiate with the waste management contractor for better terms or find a new company to work with.

The city also offers free bulky item pick up twice per year, but Wang said many people he talks to aren’t even aware of that option.

Residents in multifamily buildings are especially likely to underutilize the service, according to the report.

Houston said that’s likely due in part to the fact that the city’s hauler, Waste Management, is contractually obligated to offer appointments within two weeks for single-family homes, but for multifamily buildings, the requirement is within a month.

“Two weeks is already kind of a long time to be able to anticipate the need for a bulky pickup in some cases,” Houston said. “If you’re in a multifamily unit, you have to request that service a month in advance. That’s just not doable for a lot of Oaklanders.”

Unger said he’s currently in talks with Waste Management about renegotiating some terms of the city’s contract.

“Most people want to do the right thing, and we need to make it easier for them to do the right thing,” Unger said. “I want to increase the availability and the number of our bulky waste pickup days. I want to increase the size of home trash cans.”

The city’s contract expires in 2030, but Unger said he’s hopeful that both sides can work out some changes before then.