鈥榃hat community looks like鈥�: Oakland volunteers haul away 25 tons of trash
| Oakland, Calif.
For seven hours one Saturday, dozens of volunteers worked with rakes, shovels, and construction equipment to clear an illegal dump site on East 12th Street. They hauled away seven trailers of trash 鈥� including discarded mattresses, a moped, and two mannequins.
At the center of the effort was Vincent Williams, co-founder of the Urban Compassion Project, a waste cleanup group. Clad in a white disposable jumpsuit, Mr. Williams and 48 volunteers removed 25 tons of debris and spent $6,500 in equipment and hauling that day.
Mr. Williams started five years ago with nothing but trash bags, in a park he once played in as a child. He hasn鈥檛 stopped since, driven by a belief that even one cleanup can matter in a city where illegal dumping has become routine.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onAn effort to clean up Oakland started small: one man trying to make a park safe for a little boy to play in. Today, volunteers say the cleanups aren鈥檛 meant to replace government services, but are to remind people of the importance of community.
鈥淵ou know how many people said this is impossible? ... Or, 鈥業t鈥檚 never going to stay clean. You鈥檒l never get that pile out of there,鈥欌�� he says, watching the last trailer fill to the brim. 鈥淪o yeah, it鈥檚 very fulfilling.鈥�
Illegal dumping isn鈥檛 new to Oakland, where roadside rubbish is a common sight. As volunteers clear one of its most neglected corridors, organizers pointed to the city鈥檚 spotty record on enforcement. Since 2021, Oakland Public Works has issued nearly 3,000 illegal dumping citations totaling . Residents say the city isn鈥檛 doing enough to catch violators.
One of Saturday鈥檚 volunteers was District 2 Councilmember Charlene Wang. Not yet sworn in at the time, she didn鈥檛 mince words as she rolled up her sleeves.
鈥淚鈥檓 not going to be diplomatic,鈥� she says, wearing an N95 mask and other protective equipment given to all volunteers. 鈥淚t stinks and we really need help.鈥�
She acknowledges the city鈥檚 staffing shortfalls and the community鈥檚 rising frustration. 鈥淏ut in some ways we are in a dire moment,鈥� she continues. 鈥淲e鈥檙e short-staffed in the city and we need all the help we can get.鈥�
Ms. Wang hopes that the trash cleanups will continue. 鈥淥aklanders are resourceful people, and we find ways to get things done,鈥� she says.
As the city struggles with illegal dumping, volunteers say the Urban Compassion Project鈥檚 weekly efforts have become a grassroots symbol and a call for more accountability.
Since its founding, the group says it has cleared more than 2,300 tons of trash 鈥� the equivalent of 1,000 garbage trucks.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about cleaning up hearts and spirits鈥�
Mr. Williams started picking trash in 2019, shortly after his release from prison. Born and raised in Oakland, he first became homeless at age 9 and spent years cycling through foster homes, group homes, and mental health facilities. Upon his return to the city, he was shocked by the worsening conditions.
One day, he met a 5-year-old boy who was living in a van with his mother. The boy couldn鈥檛 play in a local park because it was strewn with trash. That moment 鈥� in a park Mr. Williams grew up in 鈥� moved him to action. He bought trash bags and protective gloves and spent two days cleaning the park alone.
鈥淚t broke something in me,鈥� Mr. Williams recalls. 鈥淎s someone who lived in this, I believe it鈥檚 my responsibility 鈥� since I got out of it 鈥� to put the energy into helping other people find solutions to their living situations.鈥�
He slowly built a crew of friends and homeless residents. Then in 2021, while organizing cleanups under the name Urban Park Cleanup, he met Supriya Golas, a University of California, Berkeley, graduate student. She helped expand the group鈥檚 reach through social media. Together they transformed the grassroots effort into a nonprofit, co-founding the Urban Compassion Project in 2022.
鈥淭he community hasn鈥檛 really known how they could get involved in some of the social issues that we see affecting Oakland right now,鈥� says Ms. Golas in an interview. 鈥淚nstead of complaining about it, we鈥檙e giving people a way to become part of the solution.鈥�
The group鈥檚 mission, they say, is beyond beautification. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about cleaning up hearts and spirits,鈥� shares Mr. Williams. 鈥淭he more people get involved in their community, the less we have to rely on local city government because we鈥檙e showing up for ourselves.鈥�
While volunteers clear one of Oakland鈥檚 most neglected corridors, cleanup organizers say the city鈥檚 response has ranged from indifferent to obstructive.听Also, some organizers recount promised support that never came 鈥� including one instance this spring聽.听
In a statement to the Monitor, city communications director Sean Maher said Oakland Public Works staff have previously spoken with Urban Compassion Project聽leaders to share information about the services available to community partners, including no-cost tool loans, debris bins, and trash pickup.
鈥淚 am happy to meet with UCP personally to provide clarity on our procedures and explore how we can best support them,鈥� he added. 鈥淢y door is open.鈥�
He noted the city鈥檚 Adopt-a-Spot program supports more than 1,000 active groups and has helped facilitate nearly 100 one-time cleanups over the past year.听
Changing perceptions
The nonprofit doesn鈥檛 just organize one-time cleanups 鈥� it works to keep sites clean by hiring homeless residents to monitor the area and alert the group if dumping resumes. The goal: prevent future dumping and shift public perception.
Mr. Williams says homeless residents are often blamed for illegal dumpings. But those living on the street like TJ Williams 鈥� no relation 鈥� say the trash wasn鈥檛 from people living there, but from outsiders.
鈥淩andom citizens and businesses would come dump their trash,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t really affected a lot of us because it looked like that鈥檚 what we were doing. But it really wasn鈥檛.鈥�
In a , Oakland public works director Harold Duffey said most discarded trash at illegal sites came from housed residents, who tossed their garbage at encampment sites rather than taking it to the dump. He noted that the problem has escalated every year since 2017 and that homeless residents 鈥渄on鈥檛 generate much more than normal everyday trash.鈥�
Now an ambassador, TJ Williams earns a $100 a week stipend to monitor cleaned areas and report new dumping. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kinda not fair because we get blamed for it,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f we could keep all of this clean, it could really make a difference in how we鈥檙e seen.鈥�
Mr. Williams says ambassadors are given a 鈥渂lank canvas鈥� to report any illegal activity. 鈥淚t ensures our streets stay clean and it gives them a purpose.鈥�
鈥溾�榃hat would Jesus do?鈥� I think he would clean up the trash.鈥�
What began with fewer than five people now draws an average of 30 volunteers each week. The group documents its efforts on social media, posting timelapse videos of each cleanup and promoting upcoming events.
John Gelenyse, a recent Apple retiree, brought his own trailer and hauled more than 2,900 pounds of waste that he paid out of pocket for the dump to take. 鈥淪ome people go to Disneyland. I like to rent tractors, pull trailers, and go to the dump,鈥� he says.
He adds that he鈥檚 compelled by his faith to help. 鈥淪ometimes I think, 鈥榃hat would Jesus do?鈥� I think he would clean up the trash.鈥�
First-time volunteer Vanessa Smith, a public information officer who lives in Oakland, heard about the聽Urban Compassion Project through Reddit. 鈥淭hese illegal dumpings give the city a reputation it doesn鈥檛 deserve,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut the fact that 40 of us made progress in two hours says a lot.鈥�
Repeat volunteer Haldean Brown says it鈥檚 the giving back that keeps him coming back. 鈥淢y sense of Oakland after living here for five years is that people band together and fix it themselves,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just cool that Oakland comes together like this.鈥�
Oakland-born volunteer Josiah Herbert and his wife, Ameena, joined the cleanups after watching their neighborhood deteriorate. Mr. Herbert says he鈥檚 always thinking: This is a mess. How does this happen? 鈥淏ut then, you realize, we can do something to fix it,鈥� he says.
The group is working to clean a 2.4-mile stretch of East 12th Street, one of the city鈥檚 worst dumping zones. Volunteers say they鈥檒l keep showing up, trailer by trailer, block by block. The goal is to do more than beautify the streets. It鈥檚 to send a message.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not here to replace city services,鈥� says Mr. Williams. 鈥淏ut we are here to remind people what community looks like.鈥�
