Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: G. Harold Duffey
City Administrator Director, Oakland Public
Works
SUBJECT: Informational Report on Equitable
Illegal Dumping Efforts
DATE: February 26, 2024
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Receive An Informational Report Regarding Oakland Public Works Programs to Equitably Deliver Illegal Dumping Eradication, Enforcement, and Education Programs Citywide.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Illegal dumping is a complex and multi-faceted problem that has grown significantly over the last decade. To address the problem of illegal dumping, the City of Oakland (City), operates multiple programs to remove debris from right of way areas and parks, however, debris removal alone has not served to stem the tide of illegal dumping. To address this issue equitably, the City must focus its resources on identifying and eliminating the source of the problem. This report will demonstrate the following:
1. Understanding the source of illegal dumping will help shape a resolution that will lead to an equitable outcome.
2. Data shows that proactive and reactive collection services are equitably distributed.
3. Collection capacity by itself, is not enough to remove illegal dumping or significantly remove debris in front line communities; the equitable solution to eradication of illegal dumping must include targeted education and enforcement.
4. Equitable enforcement of the laws for public health and safety needs to be improved to address waste generators and illegal dumping.
5. Programs must understand the geographical landscape and its impact on illegal dumping in frontline and isolated communities.
6. It is critical to remove economic barriers to trash service by implementing an equitable rate program for residential collection.
7. There is a need for targeted education programs to increase the use of existing services by promoting the legal disposal of waste and bulky items as alternatives to illegal dumping.
8. The importance of shifting public perception from blaming the responders to holding the dumpers socially and economically responsible for Illegally dumping material within the City.
Jestin Johnson (Mar 15, 2024 13:42 PDT)
Mar 15, 2024
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on Illegal Dumping Efforts Date: February 26, 2024 Page 2
Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The City generated 218,791 tons of waste last year, (excluding recyclable or compostable materials, or materials hauled to transfer stations other than Davis Street). The waste generated in Oakland is consistent with industry standards, 1/3 of waste is residential and 2/3 of waste is normally commercial/business waste. For the purposes of this report, the waste can also be broken into the following: residential (containerized carts, a percentage of bulky items collected and a percentage of illegally dumped material), and commercial waste (bin service provided to multifamily and businesses, a percentage of illegal dumping and hauling directly to landfill/Davis Street Transfer Station). See Figure 1 and Attachment A.
Figure 1
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on Illegal Dumping Efforts Date: February 26, 2024 Page 3
Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
Through data and observation, the City understands who generates the waste in Oakland and knows that each Council District has roughly the same population, which allows for an equal comparison on the residential waste. For commercial businesses in the City , Attachment B identifies the number of commercial businesses by Council District. Understanding that over 2/3 of waste generated within Oakland is commercial waste, one might assume that Council Districts disproportionally impacted by illegal dumping have a larger concentration of businesses. However, though data and observation geographic factors drive where illegal dumping occurs, including business districts vacated in evenings, isolated mountain areas, industrial sites that are dormant in the evening, and areas with accessible freeway on and off ramps.
Waste Management of Alameda County (WMAC) is the City’s exclusive franchise hauler for mixed solid waste and organic materials. California Waste Solutions (CWS) is the City’s exclusive franchise hauler for residential recyclable materials, with the exception that commercial businesses may hire non-exclusive franchise haulers to remove recyclable materials from their properties. An exclusive franchise means that no other hauler can haul residential and commercial mixed waste.
However, to increase competition for the commercial and industrial sector, the City excludes construction and demolition debris from its exclusive franchise agreement and has issued over 30 non-exclusive Construction and Demolition Franchise Agreements (CDNEFA) (Attachment C). In addition, haulers like 1- 800-Got-Junk can receive a business license and provide removal and hauling services to Oakland residents. WMAC also offers free curbside bulky item pickup appointments and free debris drop-off appointments at their Davis Street Transfer Station to single- family and multi -family residences. Despite these wide- ranging services, illegal dumping has continued to increase.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
To address the ongoing issue of illegal dumping, the City must continue to operate its programs that remove debris in the public right of way and parks while also implementing multiple programs aimed at identifying and eliminating the sources of debris, understanding the barriers to the proper disposal of debris through existing services and programs, creating access and incentives for proper disposal of debris, and stepping up enforcement efforts against those who willingly and knowingly illegally dump debris. Only through these programs can the City ultimately reduce the volume of materials on city streets and in parks. The following analysis details existing programs and newly implemented strategies the City is taking to attempt to solve the dumping problem citywide with a particular focus on areas of the city most impacted by this issue to ensure an equitable approach.
In accordance with the City’s adopted Budget, City activities to address illegal dumping support the following priorities: 1) Holistic community safety; 2) Housing, economic, and cultural security; 3) Vibrant, sustainable infrastructure; and 4) Responsive, trustworthy government.
Oakland’s Approach to Collecting Illegal Dumping
The City devotes significant resources to cleaning up materials deposited on the streets. In fiscal year (FY) 2021-2022, the City estimated it spent approximately $13 million to clean up illegal dumping. Debris removal is primarily managed by the Oakland Public Works Department (OPW) Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on Illegal Dumping Efforts Date: February 26, 2024 Page 4
Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
Keep Oakland Clean and Beautiful division (KOCB), which has fifty-eight (58) budgeted full-time equivalent (FTE) positions and a fleet of thirteen (13) vehicles devoted entirely to the cleanup and removal of debris in the city’s rights of way and at homeless encampments. KOCB operates both reactive and proactive crews and additionally has a crew designated to clean up debris at homeless encampments. KOCB also hosts ten (10) “Bulky Block Party” events annually at the city’s municipal corporation yard on Edgewater Drive where Oakland residents can bring large item debris for free disposal. (See Attachment D for more information on KOCB’s Illegal Dumping program). More information on debris removal strategies can also be found in OPW’s most recent annual report on illegal dumping efforts that was presented to the Public Works and Transportation Committee on June 27, 2023.
Annually, KOCB responds to thousands of illegal dumping service requests and implements thousands of work orders. Figure 2 below displays illegal dumping service requests and work orders for the past three years for the months May through October.1
1 The May through October time period was chosen for consistency of comparison. Due to the ransomware attack in 2023, and FY 2024 not yet complete, these are the months for which there is complete data going back 3 years.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on Illegal Dumping Efforts Date: February 26, 2024 Page 5
Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
CCD7
Figure 2: Illegal Dumping Requests & Work Orders by Fiscal Year & Council District *Displays Data for Months May through October for each calendar year 4043
3983
1485
CCD6
CCD5
CCD4
CCD3
CCD2
CCD1
128
418
803
884
714
1331
1206
2246
2226
2229
2579
3330
3679
3990
5024
4753
4894
CCD7
CCD6
CCD5
CCD4
CCD3
246
512
1101
1625
1796
2042
2870
2963
3581
3350
3911
4473
4708
5226
5617
6447
CCD2
CCD1
CCD7
CCD6
735
1017
1489
2095
2206
1977
1962
1925
2692
2781
3829
4421
CCD5
CCD4
CCD3
262
544
1279
1140
1781
1791
2711
2665
CCD2
CCD1
626
465
1160
1027
1554
2070
1994
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
Requests
Work Orders - Reactive
Work Orders - Proactive
2021 2022 2023
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on Illegal Dumping Efforts Date: February 26, 2024 Page 6
Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
As illustrated in Figure 2 above, KOCB services are most frequently deployed in Council Districts 3, 6, and 7, because those are the locations where most of the debris is dumped. Unfortunately, even deploying increased services to the most impacted areas has not solved the illegal dumping problem. In 2022, the most recent year for which complete data is available, KOCB crews collected 9,477 tons of illegally dumped debris. This represents a significant increase from 2015 when only 1,587 tons of debris were collected. The blight on the City’s streets and the impact to the residents living in those impacted communities is ongoing. Many dumpers may have become accustomed to the debris pick-up at illegal dumping hot spots, and therefore continue to dump as a means to obtain free debris removal services for their business, rather than paying for debris removal as is mandated.
Oakland Municipal Code (OMC) Section 8.28.100 states that “every owner of any premises shall ensure that arrangements are made to properly separate and dispose of the solid waste…created, produced, or accumulated on the premises, through either maintaining a subscription for regular solid waste collection service from the MM&O [mixed materials & organics] collector or self-hauling pursuant to a permit issued under Section 8.28.115.” Staff know that some residents place unwanted debris on their curb rather than schedule an appointment for it to be hauled away, take it to Davis Street Transfer Station themselves, or make an appointment for free bulky pickup. Therefore, OPW is turning its attention to determining what the barriers are to proper trash disposal, removing barriers where possible, and increasing focus on targeted enforcement when necessary.
While Council Districts 3, 6 and 7 are the areas most impacted by illegal dumping, a review of the following data indicates that these Districts are not the highest users of the bulky item collection program, a service offered by WMAC as part of its exclusive franchise agreement with the City that, as described above, allows residents to dispose of bulky items for free. Figures 3 and 4 below shows that Council Districts 1, 4, and 6 are the top users of this program. A targeted education approach in Council Districts 3 and 7 could improve the use of the bulky item program and result in cleaner streets within those Districts.
In addition, the data also shows that Council District 3 should also be targeted for an educational program to boost utilization of the bulky item drop off program at Davis Street Transfer Station.
The theory behind targeted education of these programs is that the illegally dumped material comes from the within the Council District and is not brought from other Districts or from outside of the City.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on Illegal Dumping Efforts Date: February 26, 2024 Page 7
Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
City Council District 1 = 4,110 pickups
City Council District 2 = 3,111 pickups
City Council District 3 = 2,311 pickups
City Council District 4 = 5,672 pickups
City Council District 5 = 2,866 pickups
City Council District 6 = 4,592 pickups
City Council District 7 = 3,705 pickups
Figure 3: Curbside Bulky Pickup Appointments in 2023
Figure 4: Self-Haul to Davis Street Appointments in 2023
City Council District 1 = 283 drop-offs
City Council District 2 = 324 drop-offs
City Council District 3 = 257 drop-offs
City Council District 4 = 464 drop-offs
City Council District 5 = 262 drop-offs
City Council District 6 = 515 drop-offs
City Council District 7 = 483 drop-offs
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on Illegal Dumping Efforts Date: February 26, 2024 Page 8
Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
Pilot Container Upsizing Program
The City consistently receives complaints about the cost of residential trash service in the City, especially in comparison to neighboring communities (Attachment E). Even a cursory review of Oakland’s rates demonstrate inequity. Residents that can afford to pay for larger containers benefit from a savings in cost per gallon. A customer that can afford a larger container receives a 38% cost savings per gallon, however over 90% of customers are not receiving the lower rate because they have a smaller container. Staff are finding that residents choose trash containers based on what they can afford and not based on the capacity they need.
The City is also collaborating with WMAC to implement a Trash Cart Pilot Upgrade Program (Pilot Program) to provide residents on a single trash collection route that crosses Councils Districts 6 and 7 along International Boulevard, with larger trash containers at no extra cost for three months.
The Pilot Program aims to evaluate the impact larger trash capacity has on reducing the number of trash container overage incidents, contamination of recycling and organics collections, and decrease in illegal dumping and/or overflowing street litter container abatement requests along and near the collection route. It is hypothesized that a significant contributor to illegal dumping could be residents selecting the size of their trash container based on cost rather than need.
Table 1 below illustrates that the per gallon charge for a container is higher for a smaller container.
Table 1: Per Gallon Charge By Container Size
Container Size Monthly Cost Per Gallon Cost
20 gallons $51.76 $2.59
32 gallons $58.77 $1.84
64 gallons $103.67 $1.62
96 gallons $155.79 $1.62
As a result, customers who can only afford the smaller can pay approximately 40% more in per gallon cost for waste disposal. There are likely many customers that need additional service but cannot afford it. Analysis conducted by OPW has revealed significant contamination of recycling and green waste bins with trash, indicating that residents may be using those carts for waste that does not fit in their trash bin. They may also be economically incentivized to dispose of material illegally by hiring a hauler or dumping on the streets.
OPW staff and WMAC worked closely together to rollout the Pilot Program in February. A webpage (OaklandRecycles.com/upgrade) with question & answer section was created to publicize the Pilot Program. Cart tags/hangers (Attachment F) were hung on residents’ containers before and after the container switch-out for the Pilot Program, and postcards were also distributed. Lastly, an email explaining the program was sent to single-family and multi-family customers with an email address on file.
As discussed above, as part of this effort, OPW stepped-up enforcement against nearby businesses that were determined to lack mandatory trash collection service. OPW will report out on the analysis of the Pilot Program in a future report.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on Illegal Dumping Efforts Date: February 26, 2024 Page 9
Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
Environmental Enforcement Unit
The City has found that residential and commercial customers are treated differently in the City.
While 2/3 of total waste is generated by commercial businesses, only about 50% of the waste is subject to mandatory service. When a residential customer and multifamily customer does not pay their bill, the service is deemed a nuisance and the City will subscribe to the service on behalf of the property owner and will lien the property if the service is not re-established with WMAC (Attachment G). Conversely, a commercial business that does not pay for service is simply cut off from service and left to deal with waste services on their own. Staff believes that this contributes significantly to illegal dumping and that upwards of 1 in 6 businesses do not have trash service as required.
The inequity is observed through enforcement of the City’s solid waste collection service requirements While the OMC stipulates that both commercial and residential property owners must maintain solid waste services for all occupied premises (properties), OMC Section 8.28.180 which is related to summary abatement, authorizes the City to subscribe to solid waste collection service on behalf of single and multifamily residential properties only – not commercial.
Commercial properties are thereby excluded from the special assessment process as described in WMAC’s Mixed Materials & Organics Collection Service Agreement 7.12 Delinquent Service Accounts, and 7.13 Delinquent Service Account Termination Process (Attachment H), leading to inequitable enforcement of mandatory trash collection in the city.
OPW manages the Environmental Enforcement Unit (EEU) which includes a staff of eight (8) Environmental Enforcement Officers (EEO), one (1) Administrative Analyst I, and one (1) Clean Community Supervisor.
The EEOs are primarily tasked with enforcing illegal dumping restrictions and regulations and have citation authority to bring residents and businesses into compliance with OMC Section 8.28.
EEOs use various tactics to hold illegal dumpers accountable for their actions, including forensic investigations involving thorough inspections of illegally dumped piles of debris, and as of March 2022, EEOs also monitor video footage captured by a series of surveillance cameras that are installed at illegal dumping hot spots throughout the city. A report on the first year of the surveillance camera program was presented at the June 8, 2023 Privacy Advisory Commission meeting and at the July 11, 2023 Public Works and Transportation Committee:
https://oakland.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6267046&GUID=67B97B05-77EB-4E5B- A88B-368DF4B740AD&Options=&Search=. Between March 2021 and February 2023, the EEOs issued 1,500 illegal dumping-related citations. The EEOs primarily focus their investigations on dumping hotspots as determined through their patrols (during which they observe and investigate recurring areas of dumping), and through data analysis of service requests to the city and work orders completed by KOCB crews. Most of the dumping hotspots are in frontline community areas, Hotspot locations also determine where the surveillance cameras will be deployed.
Ensuring Businesses Have Adequate Garbage Service
As the charts above show, over 50% of all the waste generated in 2023 was commercial business waste, however staff are confident that this is an undercount and the percentage should be higher. According to WMAC, there may be as many as 6,800 businesses that are not signed up Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on Illegal Dumping Efforts Date: February 26, 2024 Page 10
Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
for mandatory garbage service. Lack of garbage services leads to an increase in dumping and overuse of street litter containers which then overflow and attract additional dumping.
Recently, the City has increasingly focused on businesses in targeted areas to spot check compliance with the mandatory garbage service requirement; first, as part of a pilot container upsizing program, described further below, and additionally as part of Mayor Sheng Thao’s “Oakland Fresh” initiative which focuses on blight reduction in three specific locations in the City.
In the pilot container upsizing program, of 67 total businesses in the pilot area, 13 correction notices were sent to businesses on and property owners of 11 properties, representing 19% of the businesses in the area that did not have garbage service. Five of the businesses quickly came into compliance and subscribed to trash service and three came into compliance following correction notices. Out of the remaining three, two business were confirmed to have closed and the one non-compliant business will have trash service imposed upon them and will ultimately be responsible for the charges.
In the Oakland Fresh target area, staff looked at businesses along the entire length of International Boulevard. Of 1,214 businesses, 128 (11%) were determined not to be signed up for garbage service. Staff has initiated the compliance process with those businesses.
Staff anticipate that stronger enforcement to sign-up businesses for garbage service will prevent those businesses from utilizing other methods to dispose of their debris, such as abusing a street litter container, hiring an illegal hauler, or dumping it themselves somewhere in the city. OPW’s EEOs support this initiative by utilizing data provided by WMAC, and other methods such as tips from neighbors or site inspections of business located near abused street litter containers. If the EEOs determine that a business is not receiving the appropriate collection services, the City will issue a warning letter the business and subsequently a citation in the event of continued non- compliance. OPW will continue to monitor commercial areas located near heavily impacted neighborhoods to verify if requiring businesses to have garbage service reduces the frequency and volume of illegal dumping. However, an equitable approach to this issue is to ensure that every business within the city is also held responsible for trash service, as residents are held responsible. The residential special assessment program is applied to every occupied residential and multifamily property and should also apply to commercial businesses to ensure businesses properly dispose of garbage.
Street Litter Container Abuse
Related to the effort to ensure businesses have mandatory trash service, the EEOs are investigating instances of unlawful dumping in or near street litter containers, most of which are, as illustrated in Figure 4 below, located along commercial corridors and near transit stops. Street litter containers are not placed in residential neighborhoods because there is not a service nexus in those areas.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on Illegal Dumping Efforts Date: February 26, 2024 Page 11
Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
City Council District 1 = 187 cans
City Council District 2 = 266 cans
City Council District 3 = 267 cans
City Council District 4 = 123 cans
City Council District 5 = 89 cans
City Council District 6 = 84 cans
City Council District 7 = 49 cans
Figure 4: Street Litter Container Locations
WMAC is primarily responsible for servicing street litter containers and provides information to City staff when its staff observe abuse of a can. The EEOs then inspect these materials and if they can trace to a nearby businesses, will confirm if the business has trash service or issue a warning letter or citation, if necessary, to compel compliance.
Staff have observed no correlation in the data suggesting that an area which received additional street litter containers will be a cleaner area. In contrast, staff are finding where there are street litter containers there is a higher abuse rate of the containers by businesses around the containers which are not subscribed to trash service. Litter containers were developed for commercial corridors. From an equity standpoint, the City should re-examine how it distributes litter containers to include pedestrian paths of travel or transit hubs. Litter containers are a convenience for residents walking and traveling along Oakland streets but are not community garbage containers. People placing debris in and around litter containers can be fined up to $750 for the first offense, $1,000 for the second offense, and $1,500.00 for the third offense.
Surveillance Camera Program
On January 18, 2022, the City Council approved OPW’s Illegal Dumping Surveillance Camera Program after the proposed Use Policy and Surveillance Impact Report were unanimously approved by the Privacy Advisory Commission (PAC) (Resolution No. 89000 C.M.S.). There are currently 16 portable cameras deployed throughout the city. In July 2023, the City Council authorized staff to add License Plate Reader Cameras to its program, and since that time staff have been working with vendors to identify a product that meets the requirements of the City Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on Illegal Dumping Efforts Date: February 26, 2024 Page 12
Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
Surveillance Ordinance and plan to bring a recommendation to Council for product approval on March 19, 2024.
Additionally, the City is proposing to enter into an agreement with the California State Attorney General to utilize $160,000 in hazardous materials penalties to purchase more cameras for the program. Staff will report on the number of additional cameras that can be purchased with these funds in the annual report on the Surveillance Camera Program that will be brought to Council in late spring 2024.
Enforcement Of Illegal Construction and Demolition Debris Haulers
Unscrupulous and illegally operating haulers contribute to the City’s illegal dumping problem.
Beginning FY 2021-2022, the City began enforcing Construction and Demolition (C&D) debris hauling requirements against building permit holders who hire haulers to transport C&D debris without a City-issued non-exclusive franchise contract. The City delivers a Notice of Violation to the building permit holder via the City’s web-based platform Green Halo Systems, and if necessary, assesses penalty fees against their permit to hold them accountable.
A recently-adopted amendment to OMC Section 15.34, per Ordinance No. 13745 C.M.S. will increase the number of permitted construction projects that fall under C&D debris recycling and hauling requirements, allowing staff to further identify and target unauthorized haulers and narrowing the pool of illegal dumping sources. Construction and small remodel projects in frontline communities are vulnerable to contractors not properly disposing of construction and demolition debris because if the contractor uses their own equipment he or she can dispose of the material from the site on their own, thereby increasing the opportunity for the business to save money by illegally dumping the material somewhere in Oakland.
Conclusions
The data analysis shows that the City is dedicating the majority of its limited resources towards collecting illegally dumped debris in communities most impacted by dumping; however, continuing to pick up the debris is not the long-term solution to the issue and may in certain cases exacerbate the problem. Staff’s analysis shows:
1. Residents throughout the City have the same opportunities to properly dispose of bulky items, but containerized services maybe a contributing factor to illegal dumping, and subscription price of containerized service is artificially cheaper by the gallon for households that can afford a larger container.
2. Businesses or people conducting business that handle waste as a part of their service are abusing illegal dumping proactive and reactive services that the City provides, by dumping or placing materials in the right of way, knowing that City crews will eventually pick up the debris. Street litter containers are also abused by some business who utilize them for waste removal rather than paying for trash service, because there are no immediate enforcement mechanisms to compel the business to establish trash service and pay their trash bill. Unlike residential customers, businesses are not forced into a special assessment by the City due to ongoing lack of payment.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on Illegal Dumping Efforts Date: February 26, 2024 Page 13
Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
3. The City must pivot its focus of resources and efforts to look at the waste stream system as a whole and identify where education, enforcement, and removing barriers to access can compel compliance and facilitate the community to utilize the numerous existing services that are available. Targeted education by City Council district could significantly reduce the amount of illegal dumping by increasing the utilization of services. If services are clear, accessible, and affordable, there should be no need for anyone to dump debris in public areas.
Education campaigns to help understand what services are available need to be targeted to those communities who are utilizing the services at a lower rate per capita. The campaigns need to engage with the residents in those areas to understand what the impediments or disincentives are to utilizing such services. For example, the self-haul appointments at Davis Street transfer station are significantly underutilized, yet the monthly Bulky Block Parties that the City hosts at its Municipal Corporation Yard on Edgewater Drive, only a short driving distance from Davis Street, consistently attracts 300- 400 vehicles per event that wait in line often for an hour or longer to dispose of their debris. It would seem much easier to make an appointment with WMAC at Davis Street and not have to wait, but there may be a barrier or perceived barrier to making an appointment or other impediment that encourages residents to utilize the City services instead.
4. Enforcement should focus on businesses that do not have collection service and businesses that operate and handle waste as a byproduct of services offered (for example, from home remodels and small projects). Enforcement needs to be equitable and concentrated in areas that are experiencing the most impacts. This can be determined through a strategic and data-driven approach that identifies locations where the problem is most egregious. By partnering with WMAC, the City can access data on businesses without garbage service and abused street litter containers, to focus enforcement efforts and make an notable impact in those area. Many businesses, including small businesses, are doing the right thing by paying for trash service but are being unfairly, economically, disadvantaged by those businesses that are not paying for the cost of this service.
Businesses that follow the rules should not be the only ones who must account for the costs of operation, including waste disposal services.
5. Cost of waste disposal services also needs to be equitable and attainable for Oakland residents. Residents should be able to afford the service that they need for the number of people in their household, and not be incentivized to contaminate other waste streams, hire unscrupulous haulers, or dump debris themselves on city streets. The pilot container upsizing program will yield data to help the City understand if cost-neutral upsizing citywide can help alleviate this burden on some households.
As the City examines its approach and allocation of resources to address this issue, it will be important to track outcomes and make modifications to the approach as necessary. The management of this complex issue cannot be static and requires attention and vigilance by staff to learn from these initiatives and grow the program over time. To ensure equity, it is important that achievements in one area of the city do not result in a deterioration of conditions in another area; the goal is to solve the issue rather than move it from location to location.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on Illegal Dumping Efforts Date: February 26, 2024 Page 14
Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
FISCAL IMPACT
This item is for informational purposes only and does not have a direct fiscal impact or cost, however, of note, in FY 2021-22, the City spent over $13 million on illegal dumping abatement.
Even a slight reduction in illegal dumping activities translates to thousands of dollars the City could reprogram for other uses. Every ton of illegally dumped garbage the City collects and disposes of is most likely a subsidy for a business that decided not to pay for trash and dump the material on Oakland’s Public Right of Way.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
Staff did not conduct outreach for this informational report, however through the presentation of this information, staff seeks to respond to a number of questions that have been posed by members of the public and community organizations. Additionally, OPW is in the process of updating pages on its website to more frequently share data on the activities taken to address illegal dumping and the costs associated with those actions.
COORDINATION
This report has been prepared in coordination among several divisions of OPW including KOCB, Parks and Tree Services, and Environmental Services. The report has been reviewed by the Office of the City Attorney and the Budget Bureau.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: The accumulation of illegal debris adversely impacts Oakland’s economy. Visitors reduce their patronage of local businesses when the surrounding areas feel unpleasant or unsafe, and blighted neighborhoods reduce property values. Additionally, removing illegal dumping is very expensive. If programs to reduce debris at the source are successful, the City can cut its costs on debris removal programs.
Environmental: Providing clean neighborhoods creates safe and healthy environments for the city’s residents. Removing debris eliminates harbors for pests and physical hazards from the public right of way. Preventing and removing illegal dumping is also critical to keep solid litter, debris, and associated pollutants from entering the storm drain system and polluting waterways.
Race & Equity: Illegal dumping and litter occur disproportionately in the city’s frontline communities of color. Those communities bear the brunt of these activities including impacts to residents’ health, safety, and sense of well-being. Addressing illegal dumping with all available resources and innovative programs will improve the quality of life for those residing in communities where illegal dumping most frequently occurs.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on Illegal Dumping Efforts Date: February 26, 2024 Page 15
Public Works & Transportation Committee
March 26, 2024
Harold (Glenn) Duffey (Mar 15, 2024 10:59 PDT)
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Receive An Informational Report Regarding Oakland Public Works Programs to Equitably Deliver Illegal Dumping Eradication, Enforcement, and Education Programs Citywide.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Kristin Hathaway, Assistant Director, Oakland Public Works.
Respectfully submitted,
G. HAROLD DUFFEY
Director, Oakland Public Works
Prepared by:
Kristin Hathaway
Assistant Director
Bureau of Environment
Attachments (8):
A – Sources of Waste Generation in Oakland
B – Number of Commercial Businesses by Council District C – Non-Exclusive Franchise, Construction and Demolition Debris Agreement D – Keep Oakland Clean and Beautiful, Illegal Dumping Unit Structure E – Cost of Trash Service in Oakland and Neighboring Communities F – Pilot Program Cart Tags/Hangers
G – Special Assessment Process
H – Mixed Materials and Organics Agreement, Sections 7.12 and 7.13