L.A. officials pledge to speed response to illegal-dumping complaints

[flashl]

A report to Mayor Villaraigosa also suggests ways to prevent dumping and streamline cleanup.

Piles of smelly, rotting trash dumped illegally in some of Los Angeles' poorest neighborhoods have been allowed to sit for weeks because dumping has increased: The number of complaints has doubled in the last year while sanitation staffing has remained stagnant, the city's top public works officials reported Monday.

In a report to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the officials defended the city's refuse-collection efforts but vowed to cut response times to citizen complaints by half -- from an average of 17 days to between seven and 10 days -- and recommended streamlining the city's debris-removal programs by consolidating them under a single bureau.

...

Villaraigosa ordered the study after The Times reported last month that refuse, including dead animals, festered for weeks in some South L.A. alleys and that illegal-dumping arrests by Public Works investigators had dropped from 359 in 2002 to 55 in 2007 and to three so far this year.

The Times reported this week that city records showed that residents in some South L.A. neighborhoods, as well as an aide to the mayor, waited up to two months for refuse to be removed after they alerted the city.

LA Times

Legal and/or illegal dumping, same results. Environmental Justice

[lauralovesworld]

1. dumping is everywhere

You think that it's getting bad? Go up to the Angeles National Forest and take a good look around some of the off road trails and turnouts on the highway! It's not just needed in the lower income areas, it's needed in all types of areas, like middle class alleys for example! When it really touches my heart is when it ends up in the wildlife reserves like LA/Sepulveda Basin wildlife reserve and in the National Forests! Then you know its getting bad fast! People pick up your trash and if you have to dump, at least find a dumpster if you are too cheap to go to the landfill! I bet if the landfills used a lottery system where you spin for the jackpot with every visit, some people would actually get off their butts and go more often! What, it's like 40 bucks? something like that? We need to really watch the maintenance companies and haulers! They would be the ones with the big loads following a big clean-up! Where's that old crying Indian commercial from the 70's? It was effective for me!

[bobbolink]

2. There's quite a bit about this issue in the book "Streets of Hope" and how

the residents dealt with it and reclaimed their neighborhood.

Actually, this poor neighborhood of Boston has it's own website, and is doing very exciting things, including building new homes.

As always, thanks for this, flashl! You do great with finding good articles!