The city’s recently launched Illegal Dumping Enforcement Action initiative relies on photos and videos taken by residents to help authorities punish people who fill the streets of East and West Oakland with mattresses, furniture, construction waste and run-of-the-mill trash.
Evidence submitted to the city is being reviewed by the City Attorney’s Office community law unit, which so far has cited about a dozen people for illegal dumping.
In one recent case, the city fined one dumper $6,000 in connection with two incidents caught on a resident’s security camera.
In 2011, Oakland spent $3.2 million to clean up more than 1,600 tons of garbage dumped on city streets and sidewalks. Richmond, by comparison, spent about $1.1 million during the same year.
Next month, City Attorney Barbara Parker is scheduled to propose increasing penalties for illegal dumping, making it a misdemeanor crime as opposed to an infraction, and allowing some violators to perform community service instead of paying fines.
To report illegal dumping, call Public Works Agency Call Center at 510-615-5566, emailpwacallcenter@oaklandnet.com or sign up for SeeClickFix at www.seeclickfix.com/oakland. The city advises people to photograph the license plates of vehicles used with illegal dumping, and that reports include the incident’s date, time and location.
This story originally appeared on Inside Bay Area News
By Matthew Artz, Ashly McGlone and Rebecca Parr Bay Area News Group