Brazen, illegal trash dumping in Oakland caught on camera
OAKLAND -- Authorities said illegal dumping costs the city of Oakland tens of millions of dollars each year.
An Oakland man shared his cellphone video with CBS News Bay Area to show how bad the problem is. The video showed a man dumping a truck load of roofing construction debris in a parking lot. The truck bore the logo of a tree-trimming business based in Concord.
The parking lot is located next to the Oakport soccer field and Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline Waterfront Trail.
The witness, who wanted to remain anonymous due to safety reasons, said it happened on Tuesday around 3:30 p.m. He said there were other cars and people in the parking lot.
"When he was looking all around seeing if somebody was looking at him, so that's when I decided to bring out my phone and record to see if he was going to dump it. And, sure enough, he opened up the doors, he just kind of looked around, started dumping it, closed his doors and sped off," said the witness, a long-time Oakland resident.
Aside from recording the cellphone video of the truck unloading the trash, the witness took pictures of the truck and the license plate. The witness said he immediately reported the problem to 311.
He was outraged someone with a company truck would trash his city.
"Going there as a kid to those fields and actually watching my friends and myself playing a little bit of soccer, I grew up here. I love my city," said the witness.
The truck has the logo of Galindo Tree Care from Concord.
The owner Jose Galindo said he has nothing to do with the illegal dumping. In an email response, he wrote "I rented my dumping truck this past Tuesday. I didn't know the guy was dumping garbage every where."
When CBS News Bay Area asked Galindo for a copy of the rental agreement, he could not immediately provide one. On the company website, no where does it say truck rental as part of the business. The website listed tree removal as the company's main service.
A man also called CBS News Bay Area to say he was the person seen dumping trash and he was renting the truck from Galindo Tree Care. He said an Oakland city worker instructed him to dump the construction debris in the parking lot. He could not provide the worker's name or any evidence of his claim.
"I don't think that's true. I think he's just lying to cover it up," said the witness. "I don't think a company with their logo, their contractor license, they would rent out a truck to anybody because their insurance won't cover that person if he's in an accident."
After CBS News Bay Area shared the video with a city spokesperson on Friday, an inspector came out to investigate the incident. Public Works sent two trucks to remove the construction debris and a large pile of dirt.
The city on its website reported in 2023, they issued at least 405 citations to violators of illegal dumping. The city reported in fiscal year 2021-2022, public works crews picked up 17,000 tons of trash, which is equal to 34 million pounds of trash.
"I feel bad. Whole families come here on Sundays to play on the fields," said Oakland resident and park goer Juan Rodriguez.
Many families park in the lot to either go play soccer at Oakport Field or walk on the nearby waterfront trail.
"A lot of garbage ends up in the water. Once it starts raining or something happens, they end up in the bay," said Rodriguez.
The witness who shot the video is asking others to help keep Oakland clean.
"Take out your camera and just record them, and report them. Let's make our city look a little bit better," said the witness.
A city spokesman said the illegal dumping citation can cost up to $1,000 on top of the costs to clean up the trash.