21 tons of illegally dumped garbage cleared by dozens of volunteers in Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The graffiti on Wood Street in Oakland may stand out, but look closely because the garbage from illegal dumping is now nowhere to be seen at the 24th Street corner. Fifty-one volunteers partnered with the Urban Compassion Project to help clean the area, and literally took "tons" of debris elsewhere.

"What we reported was that there were 21 tons, that's what we were able to record," Vincent-Ray Williams of the Urban Compassion Project said. "Beyond that, there was a boat and 37 diesel tires that we never got weighed."

Timelapse video shows volunteers busy filling up dump trailers last Saturday at 24th and Wood Street.

Within blocks of this location are new housing units. To those who just moved in, cleanup like this is a must.

"I want to feel safe. I want to be able to walk outside, and I can leave my car out here for overnight and not be able to worry about how there's a dump over here and they're going to be trashing by my car," Kayla B. said.

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While there was a lot of cleanup last weekend, you can see in the video that there is still plenty of work to be done in the area.

Part of the block where all the debris was cleared is still littered with items, and almost every block nearby is a similar story.

City officials ABC7 spoke with said there are major enforcement challenges to stop the illegal dumping. It is also very expensive to legally throw things away.

Those with the UCP group highlighted what they see as larger problems.

"Unfortunately, unless we do something about the fact that there is no housing or mental health resources in the City of Oakland, we're going to continue to see people homeless with no resources," Williams said. "And with homelessness comes illegal dumping and outside actors because they utilize these areas for that."

For now, more cleanups are scheduled in the coming weeks.