Mayor Barbara Lee Announced Expanded Weekend Illegal Dumping Response to Keep Oakland Streets Cleaner

Date: October 21. 2025

News from: Mayor's Office 

Mayor Barbara Lee Announced Expanded Weekend Illegal Dumping Response to Keep Oakland Streets Cleaner

New Staffing Plan Increases Cleanup Crews; Part of Comprehensive Strategy to Combat Illegal Dumping Citywide 

Mayor's Office Contact: 

Justin Phillips 

jbphillips@oaklandca.gov Oakland, CA — Mayor Barbara Lee announced last week that Oakland Public Works (OPW) has significantly expanded its illegal dumping response by deploying additional weekend trash pickup crews, enabling the City to respond more quickly to residents' service requests and maintain cleaner streets across Oakland neighborhoods. 

"As Mayor, I want all of us to build an Oakland where our streets reflect the dignity, pride and resilience of this community," said Mayor Barbara Lee." We know too many Oaklanders are seeing trash on their streets and illegal dumping in their neighborhoods. And we are working hard to address this issue. Let’s create a cleaner, safer, greener Oakland together.” 

Previously, OPW's Keep Oakland Clean and Beautiful Division operated with lighter weekend staffing, focusing only on the highest priority sites. Under Mayor Lee's expanded plan, which went into effect in October, increased weekend overtime opportunities now allow crews to cover more locations and resolve service requests more swiftly. 

The increased staffing is funded through labor savings from vacant positions in the Department's Fiscal Year 2025–2027 budget, requiring no additional taxpayer dollars. 

Comprehensive Anti-Dumping Strategy 

The enhanced weekend staffing is part of a broader set of operational and policy initiatives the Lee Administration is developing to prevent, reduce, and more efficiently clean up illegal dumping citywide. 

Among those initiatives is a forthcoming proposal to City Council to implement a commercial special assessment. This new enforcement tool would enable the City to place property tax liens on commercial properties that fail to enroll in or pay for adequate curbside trash service, similar to the existing process for residential properties. 

In September, OPW partnered with local nonprofit Keep Oakland Beautiful to achieve a Caltrans "Clean California Community" designation. This recognition is earned by demonstrating or committing to meet 10 litter-reduction criteria and will provide priority access to grants, educational materials, and other resources to further support the City's cleanup efforts. 

Community Partnerships 

OPW continues to strengthen its community partnerships to combat illegal dumping. Through the Adopt-a-Spot program, the Department supports hundreds of community groups with no-cost tool loans, debris bins, and trash pickup. Over the past year, OPW has helped facilitate more than 2,500 community cleanup events across Oakland neighborhoods. 

"I want to thank the hardworking staff in our illegal dumping unit who are putting in extra hours in a demanding job to get our streets clean faster," said Josh Rowan, Interim Director of Oakland Public Works and Director of OakDOT. "We are complementing these expanded cleanup efforts with creative policy solutions and partnerships that we believe can significantly reduce the amount of trash that reaches our streets in the first place." 

By the Numbers 

Oakland currently has 58 budgeted positions in its illegal dumping unit. In 2024, the team responded to more than 25,700 service requests and removed over 9,000 tons (18 million pounds) of illegally dumped materials from city streets. 

Free Services Available to Residents 

Oaklanders are encouraged to visit OaklandRecycles.com to learn more about the free bulky item removal services available to them. Both property owners and renters can now schedule appointments directly. Residents of multi-family homes may schedule one free curbside pick-up and one free self-haul drop-off appointment every year. Residents of single-family homes may schedule a third free curbside pick-up after taking advantage of their drop-off appointment.