Tag: Illegal Dumping

California has been working hard to carry on with commitments to protect natural resources by keeping pollutants from landfills through recycling and reusing. While creating modern sustainable waste management strategies, the government of California has also been establishing partnerships in order to encourage the advancement of environmental management throughout its communities. San Jose is one such community that remains active in pursuing the state’s ambitious zero-waste goal.

During the past few years, the local government of San Jose, California has been fighting tooth and nail in controlling blight, graffiti, illegal dumping, and litter in their area. In 2017, the local government released an app called “My San Jose,” which citizens of San Jose can use to report illegal dumping sites. Although the app tripled citizens’ requests for clean up, it reached a point where the staff and resources were not enough to keep up with the mounting requests.

San Jose City’s “Beautify SJ” Program

San Jose’s “Beautify SJ” program brought into light the difficulties experienced by the city in taking care of the high demand for clean up. In 2019, the local government was finally able to increase staffing for the cleanup crew, whilst calling the group the “Rapid Response” team. In addition, the program also added a new compactor truck and accomplished far more proactive sweeps. According to local officials, they have managed to perform 2,100 sweeps and cleared out 8 tons of trash during the same year.

Furthermore, San Jose also approved the contract renewal with California Waste Solutions (CWS), the city’s biggest recycling hauler as the company serves as many as 166,000 households. Initially, the waste solutions company started offering free pickup services for large objects such as mattresses, ovens, and sofas in 2017 which citizens can avail by simply making a request. According to CWS, they processed approximately 2,500 pickup requests, with each haul consisting a minimum 30 items every month.

Chief Operating Officer Johnny Duong stated that the Beautify SJ program is a great way to halt illegal dumping in San Jose, relieving the streets of an average 75,000 pieces of trash each month. COO Duong also mentioned that they have been sending out mailers to inform and encourage San Jose residents to participate in the program by scheduling their pickup requests online.

San Jose, California’s Free Junk Vehicle Towing Service

Junk and abandoned vehicles is also a major problem in San Jose, with the city being reported as having the most number of vehicles left abandoned in public roads and parking lots.

The city’s Department of Transportation reports that San Jose’s parking enforcement team receives up to 60,000 abandoned vehicle reports per year, Removal of abandoned vehicles are made in accordance with California’s laws as prescribed by the California Vehicle Code. If after citation and the lapse of the grace period, owner of the vehicle still did remove the vehicle, then parking code enforcers will arrange for towing san jose abandoned vehicles with a company accredited by the San Jose Police Department.

In order to prevent the number of abandoned vehicles from growing, the San Jose’s parking enforcement agency is offering locals free towing and disposal of their inoperable and unwanted registered vehicles. However, they must first meet the following criteria in order to avail their service:
1.  Present proof that the individual requesting is the registered owner of the vehicle to be towed;

2.  The vehicle to be towed is located in the vehicle owner’s property and not on the streets;

3.  The vehicle is free of any loans or liens;

4.  The owner of the vehicle or an authorized representative should be present while the vehicle is being towed and;

5.  The Certificate of Title or the vehicle’s pink slip should be presented by the owner to the tow service.