Large truckloads of garbage and hazardous waste from an illegal campground were hauled away late last week from private property near Sutter’s Landing Regional Park and the American River in the City of Sacramento. It’s a recurring event.
Illegal camping of up to two dozen people has periodically occurred at this location for more than a decade.
“We’re taking it really slow, there’s a great deal of hypodermic needles on the ground. We have a litter crew that’s doing a sharps (hypodermic needles) recovery; Whatever we see we get and were trying to clean it up as best we can,” says Enrique Hernandez, Integrated Solid Waste Manager, Recycling & Solid Waste Division.
Taxpayers pay for a special police and social service team to offer the group services before clean-ups take place. Those that choose not to accept services simply move on and leave truckloads of hazardous materials behind. Needles, car parts, tires, feces, evidence of stolen items mixed with garbage, wet sleeping bags, and housewares are the norm. Clean ups like this are necessary throughout the City twice a month.
The City taxpayer cost of Public Works equipment and staff amounts to at least $80,000 a year for clean-up of encampments like this one. Also, Sacramento Police dedicate a team of two officers and a sergeant to serving homeless people and addressing encampments. At least 3,700 cubic yards of debris was picked up by the City last year. That’s about 300 large dump truck loads. See the monthly data.
Protestors at City Hall since December repeatedly ask the City Council to repeal the camping ordinance. The City believes repealing the camping ordinance to allow camping anywhere on public and private property is not safe, sanitary, or a means to ending homelessness. Alternatively, the City dedicates taxpayer dollars toward services. The City also works with Sacramento County and multiple partners on finding permanent solutions to housing homeless people.