r/BayAreaCali

over the last 10 days, we did two major cleanups focused on a hidden stretch along the lake merritt channel, one of oakland’s most important landmarks

in total, 113 volunteers cleared 31,000 pounds of trash from this area, preventing all of it from eventually flowing into the bay and ocean.

what people don’t realize is that this dumping site sits tucked under a bridge, mostly out of sight. because it’s hidden, it became a magnet for illegal dumping over the last five years. we found everything imaginable: refrigerators, massive couches, coolants, household waste, business waste, vape cartridges, construction debris, and endless smaller trash scattered down steep embankments and deep ditches.

ALSO when encampments form in places like this, homeless residents often become the scapegoat for all the dumping around them. we spoke to multiple homeless residents living nearby, and many of them told us they actually try hard to keep the area clean. the reality is that a huge amount of what we removed clearly came from illegal dumpers, not the people living there.

this is also the result of a broken and deeply dysfunctional encampment management policy. right now, the city is basically playing chess with encampments, pushing people from one area to another without addressing the actual problem: there’s nowhere affordable or accessible for many people to go

honestly, things were more manageable before when there were de facto encampment zones where people could stay put, build some stability, and access services consistently. now we’re scattering people across the city.

we’ll continue to do our part but we this is ridiculous.

at least we prevented 31,000 pounds of trash from going into the ocean…

Track all efforts on IG: www.instagram.com/urbancompassionproject

Two community members being racially profiled by ICE agents East Palo Alto, CA, USA 07/03/2026

$2.4 million surveillance contract with Flock approved by Alameda County

on saturday, UCP volunteers completed the job. we removed the remain 15,000 pounds of trash accumulated over 5 years from the lake merritt channel in under 2 hours. that’s 31,000 pounds of trash since june 13. we’re making it a point to monitor this site every few weeks to keep it clean.