Sacramento neighborhood overtaken by "sea of trash" following illegal dumping
SACRAMENTO — Illegal dumping in Sacramento's south Natomas has neighbors frustrated and disgusted after they woke up Tuesday to garbage lining their street.
It happened on Edmonton and Iberian drives at around 6:15 a.m.
"I just woke up and it was a snow, a sea of trash," said Devin Flores, who lives near the street turned dump. "It was like snow almost."
A home's security camera captured what appeared to be a dump truck spilling out all kinds of trash across the typically quiet street.
"Cars couldn't drive through it," resident Lisa Framiglio said. "It was too big."
Other neighborhoods like nearby Del Paso said it happens constantly despite signs posted that dumping is illegal.
CBS13 drove around the area finding other fields near neighborhoods littered with piles of garbage.
Though it was a first for the neighbors on Edmonton Drive, they said they are concerned it will happen again.
The City of Sacramento's Recycling and Solid Waste Division shared these numbers from six months in 2024 that showed the number of 311 illegal dumping calls it received:
December: 719
November: 651
October: 1039
May: 968
April: 1102
March: 1098
A department spokesperson said there hasn't necessarily been an uptick, but it is a problem.
"This is not something unique just to my district," said Lisa Kaplan, the city councilor representing the north Natomas area. "It is something that happens all over the city of Sacramento. But it's something we all keep getting complaints about."
Kaplan said if you see garbage piling up on your street, you should call 311, write to your councilmembers or contact police.
"It could be toxic dump," Kaplan said. "It could be a dump that contains needles, so that is very disconcerting for me."
The city has been cracking down on illegal dumping, offering $500 to $1,000 rewards for people giving information to catch the dumpers.
In December, surveillance video helped identify the people responsible for a dump from early October.
"Everyone was out cleaning up trash," Flores said. "There was a man with a dustpan."
City crews came out to clean up the trash in south Natomas within hours, but the dumper caught on camera is still a mystery.
CBS13 sent that surveillance video to the city and police, who are looking into it. The city said that if you are caught illegally dumping, you can receive an administrative penalty citation or even be arrested for a misdemeanor.
There are several landfills across Sacramento, one just a few miles from the South Natomas location. The city also offers trash pickup services.
