"If you live in Oakland, I'm sure you've seen garbage around. And I’m not talking about a wrapper on the sidewalk, I’m talking about the piles and piles of disgusting garbage under highways, the road, and even near people’s houses. Why?"--Lucy Dennis, 6th Grade
A bulky pickup. Oakland’s Illegal Dumping Problem
By Lucy Dennis
If you live in Oakland, I'm sure you've seen garbage around. And I’m not talking about a wrapper on the sidewalk, I’m talking about the piles and piles of disgusting garbage under highways, the road, and even near people’s houses. Some of that garbage are items as big as mattresses, chairs, shopping carts, and suitcases, to name a few. The question we’re all asking is, why and where is all this garbage coming from, and why is it ending up here, and not in the trash can? Sure, you can’t put a chair in the garbage can, but you can order a “bulky pickup,” which is when the garbage truck drivers pick up your furniture and junk that needs to be thrown away, but why is all of that garbage ending up on the side of the road?
Why Does This Happen?
Dumpster rental group, Dumposaurus, says people dump garbage on the street due to a “Lack of enough options for dumping trash and other waste, lack of awareness or knowledge of certain restrictions by the public, increased prices for disposal services, [and] lack of clear understanding of the law.”
One of these most striking reasons listed are the increased prices for disposal services. This means that people don’t have garbage disposal cans, which means that people don’t have anywhere to put their garbage, so they dump it. It seems pretty hopeless, because people just don’t have enough money to pay for a garbage can. But, there are some ways to fix this problem. An article from SF Chronicle describes a city program called, “ ‘bulky block parties’ — events where community members can dispose of their bulky household junk for free — which occurs once a month from January to June.”
Another thing that people without access to garbage cans can do is drive to the nearest landfill. Landfills, even though they produce methane, (which is a cause of global warming) and they really smell, landfills are essentially better than just dumping garbage on the road. The problem is, if you can’t buy a garbage bin, you probably don’t have a car. There are many places that you can go to put your trash that are NOT on the street, but now let’s talk about some of the other problems that lead to illegal dumping.
Another reason that people illegally dump is the “lack of clear understanding of the law.” That means that some of the people that dump trash, actually don’t know that it is illegal. It is understandable, though, because, like I said before, if you can’t buy a garbage bin, you probably don’t have the time or money to be caught up on the specific details of local law.So, you end up never finding out if you are allowed to dump garbage or not.
This isn’t the case for everyone who dumps garbage. An article by CBS News interviewed a witness of someone dumping. This is what the witness said: "When he was looking all around to see if somebody was looking at him, so that's when I decided to bring out my phone and record it to see if he was going to dump it. And, sure enough, he opened up the doors, he just kind of looked around, started dumping it, closed his doors, and sped off," said the witness, a long-time Oakland resident. This shows that the person who illegally dumped garbage knew that they weren't allowed to. Unfortunately, some people are just careless about whether the Earth is unclean or not. Some people are lazy and know that dumping is NOT allowed, that someone else is going to have to clean THEIR mess up.
An article by CBS News conducted interviews with people who live near areas where people have illegally dumped. This is what they said: “I have two kids and I want to take walks and I used to use this when it was clean to come play out here," said Alejandre. "Now it just stinks. It smells bad. I can't even take them to my backyard because all the smell goes over there." If people can’t even enjoy their lives because of this dumping problem Oakland has, then we NEED to do something about it. Troy, who got interviewed in the same article said this: "I've been coming out the last three days throughout the day because I was hoping that I would catch public works actually taking care of this," said Troy. "It hasn't happened. The smell is atrocious and it's making me sad because living in Oakland my entire life, I've never witnessed anything like this." People are counting on someone to fix this. But who?
Leland Moore, who works at the city’s Illegal Dumping Services says this about how seeing this illegal dumping on the streets makes him feel. “I hear people state that Oakland is a beautiful city, in which I agree. I further wish they could see the Oakland that I grew up in with the constant Illegal Dumping.” Many trees used to be in Oakland that are now being replaced with garbage.“It [takes] away from the natural beauty of Oakland,” Moore says. “One doesn’t focus on the hills, trees, waterways and lakes and architecture because of the illegal dumping.” Moore states the reason for this dumping is because, “they [don’t] understand the impact to the City by Illegal Dumping,” and “the high cost of garbage service.” Moore is the Public Works Supervisor of Illegal Dumping Services. Moore enjoys “Detouring illegal dumping and making improvements on the conditions in the City.”
Although this whole illegal dumping problem may not have a lot of solutions, other than cleaning it up, at least we can have hope that someday we will think of a solution. But right now the best we can do is donate to charities, help people, clean up garbage in your free time, speak out to people, get involved in it all, and most importantly, DON’T LITTER. When you don’t have a garbage can right next to you, instead of letting it fall to the ground, save it in your pocket. Put it in your bag. Then, when you see the nearest trash can, throw it away. If you see someone littering, pass the message along. It just might make them want to be involved. If you feel deeply inspired and want to do even more than the helpful acts I just listed, there are solutions. First of all, compost and recycle. It saves a lot of the food that is going into the landfills and producing methane, a cause of global warming. Another step you can take to go even further is getting Ridwell. It is a company that takes your landfill garbage and turns it into other things. My family has it, and honestly, we give it five whole stars.
Also, if you go to OSA, notice how filthy some of the hallways and classrooms are getting. If you're not going to be late, pick up some litter. Make our school more enjoyable. But, last but not least, don’t give up. Even if you see that things won't get better quickly, keep persisting, because someday, we will get this garbage cleaned up.
By Lucy Dennis
If you live in Oakland, I'm sure you've seen garbage around. And I’m not talking about a wrapper on the sidewalk, I’m talking about the piles and piles of disgusting garbage under highways, the road, and even near people’s houses. Some of that garbage are items as big as mattresses, chairs, shopping carts, and suitcases, to name a few. The question we’re all asking is, why and where is all this garbage coming from, and why is it ending up here, and not in the trash can? Sure, you can’t put a chair in the garbage can, but you can order a “bulky pickup,” which is when the garbage truck drivers pick up your furniture and junk that needs to be thrown away, but why is all of that garbage ending up on the side of the road?
Why Does This Happen?
Dumpster rental group, Dumposaurus, says people dump garbage on the street due to a “Lack of enough options for dumping trash and other waste, lack of awareness or knowledge of certain restrictions by the public, increased prices for disposal services, [and] lack of clear understanding of the law.”
One of these most striking reasons listed are the increased prices for disposal services. This means that people don’t have garbage disposal cans, which means that people don’t have anywhere to put their garbage, so they dump it. It seems pretty hopeless, because people just don’t have enough money to pay for a garbage can. But, there are some ways to fix this problem. An article from SF Chronicle describes a city program called, “ ‘bulky block parties’ — events where community members can dispose of their bulky household junk for free — which occurs once a month from January to June.”
Another thing that people without access to garbage cans can do is drive to the nearest landfill. Landfills, even though they produce methane, (which is a cause of global warming) and they really smell, landfills are essentially better than just dumping garbage on the road. The problem is, if you can’t buy a garbage bin, you probably don’t have a car. There are many places that you can go to put your trash that are NOT on the street, but now let’s talk about some of the other problems that lead to illegal dumping.
Another reason that people illegally dump is the “lack of clear understanding of the law.” That means that some of the people that dump trash, actually don’t know that it is illegal. It is understandable, though, because, like I said before, if you can’t buy a garbage bin, you probably don’t have the time or money to be caught up on the specific details of local law.So, you end up never finding out if you are allowed to dump garbage or not.
This isn’t the case for everyone who dumps garbage. An article by CBS News interviewed a witness of someone dumping. This is what the witness said: "When he was looking all around to see if somebody was looking at him, so that's when I decided to bring out my phone and record it to see if he was going to dump it. And, sure enough, he opened up the doors, he just kind of looked around, started dumping it, closed his doors, and sped off," said the witness, a long-time Oakland resident. This shows that the person who illegally dumped garbage knew that they weren't allowed to. Unfortunately, some people are just careless about whether the Earth is unclean or not. Some people are lazy and know that dumping is NOT allowed, that someone else is going to have to clean THEIR mess up.
An article by CBS News conducted interviews with people who live near areas where people have illegally dumped. This is what they said: “I have two kids and I want to take walks and I used to use this when it was clean to come play out here," said Alejandre. "Now it just stinks. It smells bad. I can't even take them to my backyard because all the smell goes over there." If people can’t even enjoy their lives because of this dumping problem Oakland has, then we NEED to do something about it. Troy, who got interviewed in the same article said this: "I've been coming out the last three days throughout the day because I was hoping that I would catch public works actually taking care of this," said Troy. "It hasn't happened. The smell is atrocious and it's making me sad because living in Oakland my entire life, I've never witnessed anything like this." People are counting on someone to fix this. But who?
Leland Moore, who works at the city’s Illegal Dumping Services says this about how seeing this illegal dumping on the streets makes him feel. “I hear people state that Oakland is a beautiful city, in which I agree. I further wish they could see the Oakland that I grew up in with the constant Illegal Dumping.” Many trees used to be in Oakland that are now being replaced with garbage.“It [takes] away from the natural beauty of Oakland,” Moore says. “One doesn’t focus on the hills, trees, waterways and lakes and architecture because of the illegal dumping.” Moore states the reason for this dumping is because, “they [don’t] understand the impact to the City by Illegal Dumping,” and “the high cost of garbage service.” Moore is the Public Works Supervisor of Illegal Dumping Services. Moore enjoys “Detouring illegal dumping and making improvements on the conditions in the City.”
Although this whole illegal dumping problem may not have a lot of solutions, other than cleaning it up, at least we can have hope that someday we will think of a solution. But right now the best we can do is donate to charities, help people, clean up garbage in your free time, speak out to people, get involved in it all, and most importantly, DON’T LITTER. When you don’t have a garbage can right next to you, instead of letting it fall to the ground, save it in your pocket. Put it in your bag. Then, when you see the nearest trash can, throw it away. If you see someone littering, pass the message along. It just might make them want to be involved. If you feel deeply inspired and want to do even more than the helpful acts I just listed, there are solutions. First of all, compost and recycle. It saves a lot of the food that is going into the landfills and producing methane, a cause of global warming. Another step you can take to go even further is getting Ridwell. It is a company that takes your landfill garbage and turns it into other things. My family has it, and honestly, we give it five whole stars.
Also, if you go to OSA, notice how filthy some of the hallways and classrooms are getting. If you're not going to be late, pick up some litter. Make our school more enjoyable. But, last but not least, don’t give up. Even if you see that things won't get better quickly, keep persisting, because someday, we will get this garbage cleaned up.
You can see people in bright yellow jackets cleaning up garbage sometimes.
