Impacts of Illegal Dumping in East Palo Alto:

An Environmental Justice AnalysisMisty McKinney and Tendai Chitewere

Department of Geography & Environment, San Francisco State University

• City of East Palo Alto, San Mateo County

• Incorporated in 1983

• 2.51 square miles

• Population 29,662 (2015 Census estimate)

• Majority people of color (2010 Census) o 64.5% Hispanic/Latinos

o 15.8% Black/African American

o 7.4% Pacific Islanders

o 6.2% White

o 3.6% Asians

o 2.5% Other races

• High renter population

• 75% of households speak a language other

than English at home 7

STUDY SITE

Primary Data Collection

• Purposive and snowball sampling

o Semi-structured interviews

o Employees at various levels of

relevant government agencies

o Employees at relevant

nongovernmental organizations

• Transcribed, coded, and analyzed data

Secondary Data Collection

• Academic journal articles

• Government documents, reports, maps

• Council/taskforce meetings and minutes

• Newspaper articles

METHODS

Preliminary findings suggest that illegal dumping is

disproportionately impacting the community of East Palo Alto. In a

twelve month period between 2015 and 2016, approximately 3,000

illegal dumping calls were received from twelve jurisdictions in San

Mateo County with more than a third of dumping occurring in East

Palo Alto. Collected data infer that a major barrier to proper disposal

is the cost and lack of information on disposal options. Further

analysis of the connection between increased illegal dumping activity

and the demographic makeup of East Palo Alto is being conducted.

Public policy to address illegal dumping through the permit process of

the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES)

changed in 2015, declassifying illegal dumping mitigation activity as a

credit option of compliance. Subsequently, 55% of interview

participants were not knowledgeable of the NPDES Permit and the

requirements to develop the Long Term Trash Load Reduction Plan

under the NPDES permit which was designed to capture 100% of

trash from entering water bodies by 2020, thus impacting the

enforcement of illegal dumping.

The results of this study can help stakeholders address illegal

dumping, which predominantly occurs in disadvantaged communities,

by utilizing an environmental justice framework that seeks to address

structural barriers to dumping and while enforcing a mitigation

process.

DISCUSSION

1. Crofts, P., Morris, T., Wells, K., & Powell, A. (2010). Illegal dumping and crime prevention: A case

study of Ash Road, Liverpool Council. Public Space: The Journal of Law & Social Justice, 5, 1– 23.

2. Sigman, H. (1998). Midnight Dumping: Public Policies and Illegal Disposal of Used Oil. The RAND

Journal of Economics, 29(1), 157–178.

3. Ichinose, D., & Yamamoto, M. (2011). On the relationship between the provision of waste

management service and illegal dumping. Resource and Energy Economics, 33 (1), 79–93.

4. Matsumoto, S., & Takeuchi, K. (2011). The effect of community characteristics on the frequency of

illegal dumping. Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, 13(3), 177–193.

5. U.S. EPA Region 5. (1998, March). Illegal Dumping Prevention Guidebook. U.S. EPA.

6. Pellow, D. N. (2004). The Politics of Illegal Dumping: An Environmental Justice Framework.

Qualitative Sociology, 27(4), 511–525.

7. City of East Palo Alto (2017). Vista 2035: East Palo Alto General Plan.

REFERENCES

I would like to thanks the Department of Geography & Environment

of San Francisco State University, SCALES, and all participants in

the research. I would like to especially thank Eli and Drake aka

“Turtle” for your unwavering support and to all my family and friends

for pushing me to complete my journey.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Illegal dumping is a concern for many communities in the United

States and throughout the world. Illegal dumping impacts the

environment and can pose serious health problems if toxic waste and

chemicals from dumped materials contaminate water bodies 1, 2. In

California, illegal dumping is a problem in urban settings with many

municipalities having ordinances to deter the act with significant fines

or jail time. In the City of East Palo Alto, the frequency of illegal

dumping increases yearly.

Illegal dumping occurs along roadways, alleys, and in poorly lit areas

with materials ranging from construction and demolition debris,

automobile parts, bulky household waste like furniture and appliances,

and household trash 3, 4. In the small city of East Palo Alto, California,

low-income communities and communities of color are

disproportionately burden with illegally dumped waste compared to

neighboring cities.

The Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as

“the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people

regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the

development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws,

regulation and policies” 5. Environmental injustice is the concept that

certain communities are disproportionately burdened with

environmental hazard such as illegal dumping 6.

INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND

Misty McKinney – mckinney@mail.sfsu.edu

CONTACT

• How does the City of East Palo Alto address illegal dumping in their

Long Term Trash Load Reduction Plan?

• How effective is the Long Term Trash Load Reduction Plan in

mitigating illegal dumping in East Palo Alto?

• How does the City of East Palo Alto address planning policies that contribute to the environmental injustices of illegal dumping?

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

SCALESSustainable Communitiesand Local Environments

Source: City of East Palo Alto

Source: City of East Palo Alto