Alameda County’s strategy for beating its illegal dumping problem is working — and the rest of the Bay Area is signing on

Underneath an overpass on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and 36th Street in Oakland, a stripped 17-foot 1981 Bayliner boat is stranded in a sea of plastic wrappers, broken furniture and bike frames — one of the more conspicuous objects to be found in the many illegal dumpsites throughout the Bay Area.

This nautical eyesore aside, Alameda County has been lauded as one of the foremost policymakers in combating illegal dumping in recent years, launching a pilot program in 2018 that has evolved into a regional and statewide strategy. The county’s aggressive efforts on the issue will be shared with other Bay Area leaders at a conference in October to galvanize support for a coordinated response to the problem.

“There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach — we need comprehensive solutions that