High rates and underused services undermine Oakland’s fight against illegal dumping

High rates and underused services undermine Oakland's fight against illegal dumping Oakland residents face high trash rates.

Key points

• In September 2025, the City Administrator's Office hired former at-large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan as a project manager to perform policy research on illegal dumping and blight.
• At the July 25 return of OPW's "Bulky Block Party", 385 vehicles dropped off enough trash to fill 15 sizeable bins.
• Oakland's single-family curbside hauling rates are 23% to 40% higher than the average among nearby jurisdictions served by Waste Management of Alameda County Inc.
• Under the Waste Management contract, the mayor and City Council members receive a combined allocation of 108 sizeable 20-cubic-yard dumpsters annually, and 30 bins reserved for city events.
• The city audit discovered 71 dumpsters were unused in 2025, including 22 of the 30 reserved for municipal events.

Oakland residents pay higher trash-hauling rates than most nearby communities served by the same waste firm. City auditors discovered that some free disposal services are underused and dozens of dumpsters available through the city's waste contract went unused last year.

Oakland's single-family curbside hauling rates are 23% to 40% higher than the average among nearby jurisdictions served by Waste Management of Alameda County Inc. (WMAC), depending on the container size, according to a city audit.

Oaklanders at present pay at least $53.36 every month for curbside collection. Minimum rates are $38.68 in Hayward, $23.32 in unincorporated San Lorenzo, and $15.80 in Emeryville. Albany is the jurisdiction that pays a higher minimum rate, at $59.17. 'It's too expensive to dump legally'.

"People are dumping illegally because it's too expensive to dump legally, " Councilmember Zac Unger remarked. "We're trying to negotiate the contract with Waste Management. It sure is a bad contract. I would hate to wait until 2030. Since the rates are so high, they purchase the smallest cans and when it overflows they dump it on the street."

"The City of Oakland recognizes affordability is a factor contributing to illegal dumping, " Kaplan remarked. "When lawful disposal options are difficult to access or too costly, some residents may turn to illegal dumping." Auditor raises concern regarding rate lacks transparency.

Oakland's waste-hauling rates are governed by its franchise agreement with WMAC. It is due to expire in 2030 after a five-year extension approved in 2025.

In practice, the contract allows Oakland and WMAC to negotiate amendments before it expires if both parties agree.

"While the City cannot unilaterally impose changes on the waste-service provider under the current contract, we are negotiating with the provider for potential adjustments, " Kaplan remarked.

WMAC and Oakland are additionally involved in pending litigation over the contract. Auditors additionally raised questions concerning how Oakland's waste rates are calculated.

"There's not really any rate transparency within the Oakland contract, our contract, with waste management, " Oakland performance auditor Paula Kaltenbrunner remarked. It's not clear, she remarked, how cerain fees correspond to the services they pay for.

Neither city auditors nor Oakland Public Works' (OPW) authorities could provide Oakland Voices with an itemized explanation for why Oakland's rates are higher than nearby jurisdictions.

Oakland Voices reached out to WMAC via email and phone call but did not receive a response to questions. Multifamily residents employ bulky pickup far less.

Access to services varies between single-family homes and apartment buildings under city programs.

Single-family residents receive two free curbside bulky pickup appointments per year. Multifamily units receive one free appointment per unit each year.

Notably, the city audit made public a disparity in apply. In 2025, auditors estimated that 72% of single-family units applied their bulky-pickup appointment, compared with less than 2% for multifamily units.

Until November 2021, renters had to ask their landlord or property manager for a bulky pickup. Kaplan remarked Oakland changed that policy so residents can schedule their bulky waste pickup directly.

"Because of this policy change, and because tenants move more often or may move from a different city with different rules, some renters may not be aware that this service is available to them, " Kaplan remarked.

Notably, the City Council allocated funding for OPW to hire a local firm to develop and test an outreach strategy to growth multifamily participation, OPW Director Liam Garland informed Oakland Voices.

"They're gonna be developing a strategy for us for neighborhoods that are heavily populated with illegal dumping that are not using the resources, " OPW Assistant Director Kristin Hathaway remarked.

For context, the city additionally offers one free drop-off of up to four cubic yards of bulky waste per year at the Davis Street Resource Recovery Complex in San Leandro. Dozens of city dumpsters went unused.

In practice, the city audit discovered 71 dumpsters were unused in 2025, including 22 of the 30 reserved for municipal events.

Oakland residents organizing eligible community events can request debris boxes through the mayor's or council members' offices using an online request form. Community organizations organizing their own cleanups additionally face disposal costs.

"We need them dumpsters, they're very expensive, " Supriya Golas, executive director for Urban Compassion Project (UCP) remarked. "We spent $130, 000 on dumpsters last year."

UCP is an Oakland-based nonprofit that organizes cleanups and other services. The organization remarked it removed 1.3 million pounds of trash from Oakland streets in 2025. Golas remarked she has repeatedly asked the city for dumpsters.

"They don't give us money, resources.the least they could do is give us dumpsters, " Golas remarked. Oakland expands legal disposal options.

Oakland is expanding legal disposal options. At the July 25 return of OPW's "Bulky Block Party", 385 vehicles dropped off enough trash to fill 15 sizeable bins. Another free drop-off event is scheduled for Oct. 24.

Oakland additionally lately secured a $9.2 million Crankstart Foundation grant to combat illegal dumping. Part of the funding will backing a pilot program providing larger residential trash containers for tenants at no extra cost.

Asked regarding the connection between disposal costs and illegal dumping, Hathaway pointed to affordability.

"The key to it is finding affordable waste services for people, " Hathaway remarked.

In short, high rates and underused services undermine Oakland's fight against illegal dumping is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.