If you’re caught trashing Oakland’s streets, be prepared to pay a bigger penalty.

Mayor Barbara Lee and Councilmember Zac Unger announced new legislation on Monday that would increase fines for illegal dumping. First-time violators would have to pay $1,500. People caught dumping trash a second time would pay $2,500, and third-time violations would result in fines of $5,000. Fines are currently pegged at $750 for first-time violators, $1,000 for second-time offenders, and $1,500 for third-time offenders.

The city currently resets fines after three years. This means that a first time-time offender who is caught dumping four years later will again pay a one-time fine. The new legislation would eliminate this mechanism. 

“This legislation sends a clear message that Oakland will not tolerate those who dump trash on our streets or profit off harming our neighborhoods,” Lee said in a statement. 

The City Council’s Public Works and Transportation committee will hold a hearing on the proposed law at its meeting next Tuesday. 

The proposal would also make it a crime to use a vehicle to dump trash, and it would even be illegal to haul trash in a vehicle if it doesn’t have a license plate. 

“I get calls all the time about illegal dumping and what we are doing to solve the problem,” Unger said in a statement. “This legislation takes tangible action to mitigate and dissuade illegal dumping across Oakland.”

The bill would also streamline the city’s administrative citation process to make enforcement “faster and more effective,” according to a city press release. It’s unclear what that would actually mean in practice. 

The city’s new ordinance was announced just days after State Senator Jesse Arreguín unveiled his own proposed bill to crack down on illegal dumping. Arreguin wants to have the DMV refuse to renew vehicle registrations for individuals who haven’t paid their fines for illegal dumping. 

Oakland leaders have known for years that illegal dumping enforcement is not working. In 2024, KTVU reported that Oakland had only collected a fraction of the fees it imposed on people caught illegal dumping. The Oaklandside found that this pattern held true in 2025. 

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