San Francisco is a city famous for its beautiful Victorian mansions and scenic views. At the same time, the city is notorious for its dirty streets.
In some parts of the city, public perceptions of SF’s dirty streets are based on reality: complaints about poop on the streets have skyrocketed over the past decade, requests for street and sidewalk cleaning hit a record high in 2022, and it often takes longer than 48 hours to so that the city administrations can respond to these requests.
As more San Franciscos call for the city to clean up their streets, many may not be aware of how much of the cleaning duties are the city’s responsibility, or the legal hurdles the city faces in seemingly routine processes like sidewalk sweeping or stripping of feces.
San Francisco Public Works workers clean sidewalks, bus shelters and parks in the Castro District. | Sophie Bearman/The Standard
“A lot of people say, ‘I pay my taxes — isn’t that the city’s responsibility?'” said Vince Yuen, founder of the cleanup group Refuse Refuse San Francisco. “Yes, ideally, very efficiently, your monetary resources can pay for resources that keep every square inch of the city clean.
“But once you pick up the garbage yourself, you will see that the scale of the problem is much greater,” Yuen continued.
The biggest mistake? That San Francisco is responsible for all the clutter on the city’s sidewalks. Although the city has a variety of cleaning services that it deploys every day — from the infamous poo patrol to scheduled high-pressure sweeps in particularly filthy neighborhoods — the law doesn’t allow cleaning every street corner or sidewalk.
REGARD: This is how San Francisco cleans its streets thoroughly
State law requires shopkeepers and ground floor homeowners to maintain sidewalks around their property, including removing trash and litter on sidewalks that are considered private property.
City data shows some authorities are refusing cleaning services when trash is found on private property. And city officials say a recent court order banning warehouse sweeping has contributed to SF’s dirty-look problem.
Stockton Street in Chinatown is lined with discarded cardboard in December 2022. | Courtesy of the Chinatown Clean Ambassador team
City officials argue that there needs to be a better culture of community responsibility and cleaning in San Francisco. While others argue that policy-level cleaning reforms are still badly needed, local advocates say reforms should be accompanied by increased public volunteerism.
“We know we can’t take care of everything on our own, and it would be really nice if we could,” said Department of Public Works spokeswoman Rachel Gordon. “When people get involved and learn something about the city, I think everyone benefits. You see, San Francisco isn’t just about housekeeping.”
If you’re worried about dirty roads, here’s what you can do besides yell at your local lawmaker.
1. Call 311.
The best way to get the city’s attention to an overflowing trash can or hog-lined street is to call the 311 hotline and file a street or sidewalk cleaning request. There is no guarantee that city officials will respond to or resolve every single query, but contacting this service is a good way to report problems to officers.
2. Speak to the Public Works Outreach and Enforcement Team.
There are many complicated rules for street and sidewalk cleaning. The CleanCorridorsSF deep cleans, which the city conducts throughout the year in various neighborhoods, allow property owners to speak to members of the on-site OnE (Outreach and Enforcement) team about their specific cleaning duties. A schedule for future weekly Thursday scheduled cleanings can be found here.
Do you have graffiti problems? Residents and business owners in some SF neighborhoods can enroll in the Public Works Control Program, which offers graffiti removal services. Although this is only a pilot program, interested property owners can participate until the end of 2024.
A sanitation worker washes graffiti from the Mission branch of the San Francisco Public Library on April 27, 2022. | Camille Cohen/The Standard
Community Ambassadors do many things for the city, including reporting on cleanliness, graffiti, and hazardous waste. It is a part or full time job for underemployed and unemployed people and the position may involve regular street sweeping.
5. Use pit stops to your advantage.
Did you know that the city has more than 30 “pit stops” or public restrooms scattered throughout the city? Most are in the Tenderloin and Mission neighborhoods, and each pit stop is equipped with needle drop boxes and free dog waste bags.
The exterior of a Pit Stop truck in Bayview on Tuesday. Community members can stop to use the restroom or drop off needles. | Liz Lindqwister/The Standard
6. Adopt a road or sewer – literally.
Have you ever seen a smelly street or a clogged sewer and wanted to do something about it? The city allows residents to “adopt” any road or sewer of their choice to ensure it remains clear, unclogged, and pristine. The city will provide rakes, trash bags, trash cans, and other cleaning supplies to participants.
Pro tip: Yuen says you’re not required to clean just one street. You can adopt a street to get cleaning supplies from the Department of Public Works, then set out to sweep any neighborhood or street that needs it.
7. Participate in voluntary cleaning programs.
Many city agencies and local organizations host volunteer cleanups and street sweeping services: Public works host monthly neighborhood beautification days where residents help with landscaping, gardening, sidewalk cleaning, and graffiti removal. Refuse Refuse SF also hosts cleanups almost weekly, including recently a quirky singles-only event.
A Refuse Refuse SF volunteer collects trash during a singles-only cleanup in the Marina District. | Liz Lindqwister/The Standard
8. On earth San Francisco, cut out the trash.
Did you know you can be billed $320 for leaving your dog’s poop on the street? Littering will cost you another $135 if caught, and the city once paid $10.0 million a year to clean cigarette butts from sidewalks.
If you have a coffee cup handy, wait until you see the nearest public trash can to throw it away. If you have a broken bed frame and need to move it away, instead of leaving it on the street, call Recology.
