Alameda County’s strategy for beating its illegal dumping problem is working — and the rest of the Bay Area is signing on

Underneath an overpass on Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard and th Street in Oakland a stripped -foot Bayliner boat is stranded in a sea of plastic wrappers broken furniture and bike frames one of the more conspicuous objects to be detected in the a large number of illegal dumpsites throughout the Bay Area A boat and discarded items accumulate on Martin Luther King Jr Way sidewalk near th Street in Oakland Calif on Tuesday Sept Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group This nautical eyesore aside Alameda County has been lauded as one of the foremost policymakers in combating illegal dumping in modern years launching a pilot initiative in that has evolved into a regional and statewide strategy The county s aggressive efforts on the issue will be shared with other Bay Area leaders at a conference in October to galvanize backing for a coordinated response to the predicament RELATED Despite more dumpster days and free junk pickup illegal dumping continues to plague San Jose There is no one size fits all approach we need comprehensive solutions that prevent illegal dumping remove it fast and hold dumpers accountable Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley disclosed in an email to Bay Area News Group Related Articles East Bay resident gets years in federal prison for receiving child pornography Four sentenced for killing Oakland man in RV robbery shootout Man shot after dispute near Lake Merritt dies of his wounds Two dead two hospitalized following shooting in Antioch Walnut Creek man allegedly killed two women staged crime scene Miley has made addressing illegal dumping a priority in his office since emerging the multi-agency Alameda County Illegal Dump ACID Taskforce which launched in The task force created a blueprint that can be applied across the county During the year-long pilot the task force removed over tons of trash and issued more than citations as it focused on notorious illegal dumping sites in East Oakland on Railroad Avenue and G Street The pilot venture identified a three-prong strategy dubbed the Es mentoring eradication and enforcement Alameda County and Oakland leaders explained the undertaking proved measurable success when it was supported by funding and prosecutorial follow-through but that former Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price did not engage in the pilot limiting its enforcement power according to a report from Miley s office As in multiple cities across the state illegal dumping skyrocketed in Oakland during the pandemic Between July and June Oakland community works crews picked up cubic yards of illegally dumped trash according to city evidence Keep Oakland Beautiful and Clean workers a division of Oakland Residents Works department removes a large trash pile along International Blvd at st Avenue in Oakland Calif on Friday Sept Laura A Oda Bay Area News Group A lot of people think it s easy to address illegal dumping Just put a dumpster there just make the dump free ' commented Erin Armstrong the director of procedures and strategic initiatives for Miley s office But the longer you work in this field the more you understand that you have to address the root causes The Es strategy became the centerpiece of the first inaugural statewide conference on illegal dumping in prompting Bay Area cities like San Jose Oakland and Hayward to adopt Alameda County s blueprint in addition to Los Angeles and Yolo Counties Alameda County bureaucrats emphasized the need for a comprehensive approach to rooting out illegal dumps Maintenance Workers for the City of San Jose left and Javier Valencia a Maintenance Worker picks up trash that has been illegally dumped on Cadillac Drive in San Jose Calif on Tuesday Aug Stretches of San Jose streets have become dumping grounds for unwanted household items including mattresses stoves and refrigerators But after a concerted effort to crack down on blight city officers believe they are making progress to curb residents from discarding their unwanted junk Doug Duran Bay Area News Group The Urban Compassion Project an Oakland-based nonprofit focused on cleaning up urban blight has organized volunteer weekly clean-ups of the the bulk blighted areas of the East Bay The organization proposes to have eliminated more than tons of trash Monday night representatives of the group alerted the Oakland Police Department about a person illegally dumping trash on th and Perala Street Increased penalties for illegal dumping are one of the new strategies in the city of Oakland to punish dumpers Oakland councilmember Ken Houston recounted Bay Area News Group If you have someone fined for dumping in trash then you haven t done anything mentioned Oakland councilmember Ken Houston who partnered with Miley to launch the pilot scheme in But if you could get a felony charge for dumping hazardous materials you re going to think about that twice It s a deterrent mechanism Discarded items accumulate on East th Strret and nd Avenue in Oakland Calif on Tuesday Sept Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Abandoned vehicles and discarded items accumulate on Mandela Parkway and Willow Street in Oakland Calif on Tuesday Sept Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group A person rides past discarded items accumulated on Wood Street in Oakland Calif on Tuesday Sept Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Show Caption of Discarded items accumulate on East th Strret and nd Avenue in Oakland Calif on Tuesday Sept Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Expand Illegal dumping has returned to pre-pandemic levels Armstrong declared but it remains a pernicious issue for plenty of California communities and cracking down on blight in one area often pushes it to another It s crucial she added that municipalities pursue a coordinated response to prevent organization gaps and duplicated efforts to address blight Alameda County will host a regional conference on Oct with Bay Area leaders to release the findings of a survey of experts across the state on illegal dumping unveil a new illegal dumping ordinance with enhanced penalties for unincorporated communities and request Alameda County cities to pass similar ordinances to take out the trash for good The next statewide Illegal Dumping Conference known as IDCon will be held April through May That s why coordination is so pivotal Miley commented so that each city and county isn t reinventing the wheel We need to be talking with each other sharing what works and what doesn t