Long Beach launches RV waste dumping site to help homeless residents

Long Beach has opened its new RV dumping site to help its homeless population safely dispose of their waste. 

"Today is an exciting day," said homeless services program officer Somatra Church. "We wanted to make sure we provide other alternatives for our unhoused neighbors."

The city opened the site near Cherry Avenue and 32nd Street. In addition to providing a dignified space for waste disposal, visitors can fill up their tanks with clean water. The program started, in part, to address the public health concern of unmitigated waste disposal.

"Most of the times when people are living on the streets or living in their vehicles they're disposing of wastewater where they're at," said Church. This provides a better option. It is a public health concern and we wanted to make sure as a city that we provide a space like this."  

The site is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and overnight parking is not allowed nor is parking on the surrounding streets. This is a free service and operates on an appointment basis. People hoping to use this site can go to the City's Multi-service Center, Mobile Access Center or contact an outreach worker to set up an appointment.

"We want to make sure that this is a space where people can come on a weekly or biweekly basis," said Church.