Illegal Trash

Jesse Espinoza is fed up with Cacique Street getting dumped on.

And when we say dumped on, we mean dumped on.

“I’ve seen, beds, TV’s, chairs, sofas, baby strollers all just left in a heap.

And, of course, there’s the inevitable mattress. The strangest I’ve ever seen is a complete bathtub”

It’s all household trash. It happens mainly on the between Punta Gorda and Carpinteria Streets and it happens frequently.

It’s all illegal of course.

Jesse believes there’s three things at play

• Residents moving house who just can’t be bothered and dump their rubbish
• Residents who simply don’t pay their trash charges
• Residents who simply don’t know Marborg will come and take it away.

It doesn’t really matter what the reason is, it’s just an unsightly mess.

Jesse is a long-term resident in the area, and also a member of the Eastside Society Board.

He and his neighbors do a lot to keep the area looking spic and span.

Household items dumped on roadside

They recently completed some plantings near the Cacique bridge to bring a little bit of a garden feel to the area, and they take part in regular monthly neighborhood clean ups.

So it’s a bit frustrating when after they’ve done their community proud, they come out in the morning to find their own neighborhood’s been dumped on.

And while Jesse agrees the SB city council and collection company Marborg’s response is much quicker and better than it used to be, he believes more measures are available to prevent these eyesores.

“They could post more signs, they could carry out more regular sweeps of the area to check for illegal trash, and there’s a strong case to prosecute offenders. A little research may help find out who the offenders are.”

Eastside Society President Tino De Guevara writes: The city council clearly isn’t responsible for this antisocial behavior and yet it takes responsibility for clearing up the mess. The Society will be writing to the council and to the Association of Realtors with new ideas to try and minimize illegal trash.

You can call the city’s collection agents Marborg to report illegal dumping at 805-963-1852
You can use the same number to arrange free pick up of extra-large items
Renters can ask their landlords to call on their behalf

The city council also has a number to call for reporting illegal dumping 805 564 5413

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