East Bay city looks to curb illegal dumping by hitting perpetrators in their pocketbooks

Every day in Pittsburg someone dumps a mattress or two – and sometimes a couch, a desk, chairs and more.

That means time and money for the city’s code enforcement and public works teams, which then have to dispatch staff to remove the debris.

Fed up with the illegal dumping, the City Council agreed this week to add teeth to its current rules.

Under the new rules, fines will increase to $1,000 per incident – the maximum allowed by the state – and police will be given the authority to hold the vehicle owner accountable as well as charge those responsible with the cost of the cleanup.

Illegal dumping has been an issue for Pittsburg and other communities for the past several years, Jordan Davis, Pittsburg’s director of Community and Economic Development, told the council.

“It has increasingly become an issue throughout the region, and the city spends $100,000 annually on the cleanup of illegally dumped debris,” he said. “Items dumped are often large, heavy, maybe hazardous or contain hazardous materials requiring a lot of processing in order to pick those up and also to dispose of them.”

And, though illegal dumping and littering is a crime under state law, prosecution has been “minimal at best,” Davis said.

“If they don’t think anything’s going to happen, there’s no incentive to do it the right way,” he said.

City Manager Garrett Evans said as far back as 2017 the city picked up 632 mattresses and 361 couches or sofa chairs in a year.

“So this is an issue that we definitely want to come up with as many ways to address as possible,” he said.

Davis said in 2021 the city estimated there were more than 1,200 tons or 306 cubic yards of debris – a number that included homeless encampment cleanups – while 2022 was slightly less, he said. Even so, he noted that if one removes the encampment cleanups, the 2022 debris “grew significantly,” to about 288 cubic yards.

Disposal of garbage in places where it is not allowed is a threat to public health and welfare, not only creating blight but a burden on city resources, staff has said.

In the past, illegal dumping has even caused accidents as drivers swerve to avoid it, police have said.

A vehicle and bus collided on Sept. 27, 2022, in Pittsburg after someone illegally dumped a large box of construction material on the Pittsburg-Antioch Highway.  The city of Pittsburg estimates it spends more than $100,000 annually to remove trash and debris illegally placed along roadways or other public areas. (City of Pittsburg) 

Davis noted the proposed ordinance would place the liability on the owner or operator of the vehicle that violated the dumping rules. Automated license plate readers would capture the license plates of the owner in some cases and both the owner and the operator could be liable for $1,000 fines.

The city manager, however, could offer community service in lieu of the fines if it is available, Jordan said.

In addition, the cost of abatement of the property could be charged to the property owner in cases of ongoing dumping, he added, noting it would violate city code against allowing illegal dumping on one’s property.

Councilman Jelani Killings asked who would enforce the new rules.

Davis said it would be a team effort and it would depend on the nature of the dumping and where it is located, with either public works or code enforcement answering the calls. Police then would be contacted to see if video existed that would show the vehicle license plate.

“We’ll continue working with the police department to enforce the municipal code by these additional measures potentially available to us,” he said.

Before calling for a motion, Killings said he was “definitely supportive” of the ordinance.

“I think we all realize the issue around the region when it comes to illegal dumping and I’m definitely wanting to give our staff more tools to be able to address it within our community,” he said.

Councilmember Angelica Lopez motioned for the approval, which passed on a 3-0 vote, with Mayor Juan Banales and Councilmember Shanelle Scales Preston absent.