Oakland Tackles Illegal Dumping — With a ‘Party’

It’s possibly the hottest party of the weekend in Oakland. But the cleanest? Don’t count on it. 

Dozens of residents lined up their vehicles this morning for the revival of the “Bulky Block Party,” where Oaklanders can discard their large household items for free as the city battles a costly illegal dumping problem.

It was a party in the loosest sense possible — music blaring from a speaker as drivers pulled in — that the city says gives residents a chance to get rid of items that might otherwise end up on neighborhood streets. The event was last held in 2024 as a monthly disposal, but this is the first of a series of “parties” that will happen quarterly through April 2027. 

Mayor Barbara Lee was there. She told KQED the event was part of a number of strategies the city is enacting to manage its illegal dumping problem.

“I keep saying I want Oakland to be the cleanest, safest and greenest city in the country, and that’s about eradicating this,” Lee said. “This is outrageous what we see here in Oakland.” 

An Alameda County Grand Jury report released this June criticized the city for the longstanding problem, finding that Oakland failed to inform residents about free bulky item disposal and that enforcement of illegal dumping had been “wholly inadequate.” 

Cleaning up the trash cost the city about $14 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year, according to a separate report from the city’s auditor in April. It found that a lot of the trash was from residents themselves, though outsiders do dump in the city as well. 

That same month, the city doubled its fines and approved the first step of a pilot program to use drones powered by artificial intelligence to track illegal dumping. Fines for third-time violators jumped to $5,000 and $1,500 for first-time violations.

Those fines operate on an equity system that Lee said people can opt for community service instead of paying.

The grand jury made several recommendations, including that the city require businesses to subscribe to a waste collection service, enact improved education campaigns to promote bulky item services and designate a single person to manage all illegal dumping efforts

Some residents say that economics are part of the reason for illegal dumping. Residential trash removal costs in Oakland are some of the highest in the Bay Area for household garbage bins, the Grand Jury noted. Monthly rates for a 32-gallon container for a single-family curbside collection cost $62.83, $110.31 for a 62-gallon container and $165.42 for 96-gallons. 

Julia Velasco, an Oakland resident who rented a U-Haul to carry her garbage to the site, said the event was a good start. 

“There’s a lot of people that are taking advantage of this,” Velasco said. “I think there’s other factors that kind of make it difficult. Sometimes, maybe it’s not people from Oakland, maybe it’s just other people passing by and dumping stuff.” 

Courtney Payne, who was sandwiched between her parents Paul and Susan Payne as they waited in line in a U-Haul, said the city should increase the visibility of the events to ensure higher turnout. 

“I actually just found out about this like two days ago,” Courtney Payne said. “It’s like, how do people even know about this?” 

City staff were there handing out flyers to get the word out about other disposal options. John Hillmon, public works operations manager Keep Oakland Clean and Beautiful, said the event allowed them to help educate residents. 

“We’re excited about having the community come out and find a way to not do illegal dumping and get rid of these items in a legal way,” Hillmon said. 

The next Bulky Block Party is taking place on Oct. 24, 2026 at 7101 Edgewater Drive and is open to Oakland residents.