Dive Brief:

• LA Mayor Eric Garcetti is planning to spend $5 million in an effort to rid alleys, vacant lots and streets in the city from piles of trash, according to the Los Angeles Times.
• Los Angeles has over 900 miles of alleys that are a mecca for dumped trash, debris and large household objects such as furnishings. 
• The city is pushing for one coordinated program to take control of the dump sites that have overtaken certain spaces. The current measures consist of various programs that are working separately to address the problem.

Dive Insight:

Officials are doubtful that the allotted funds will be enough to rid the areas of trash. According to the Los Angeles Times, the cost to clean up the entire city is estimated to be $25 to $30 million. Funding to clean alleys was dropped years ago, and is now reduced to bulky item pickup by the Bureau of Sanitation, who collect the waste only when a citizen calls the city.

According to the Los Angeles Times, on April 30, the City Council advised sanitation officials to draft a neighborhood cleanup program using available data. The effort is part of an overall expansion of the city's recycling program through the implementation a new franchise plan that became a law in April 2014.