Debris left at a homeless encampment was collected by CalTrans workers and 20 San Joaquin County jail inmates Wednesday. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

Inmates clean up 14 tons of trash near river in Lodi

The smell of rotting trash couldn't be avoided. Neither could the piles of debris ranging from old furniture to tattered clothing.

By the time 20 jail inmates had cleaned up the trash north of Turner Road near Highway 99 on Wednesday, they had collected 14 tons. And that doesn't count the abandoned motor home that had to be towed.

The waste included broken beer bottles, old bicycle tires, two toothbrushes standing upright in the dirt, a make-shift kitchen, a countertop and unused clothing hangers.

Transients camp in the area near the Mokelumne River under the highway overpass, but that's not the only cause for the trash build-up.

"It's not just the homeless," said Lodi Police Officer Dale Eubanks.

"Instead of going two blocks to the transfer station, people save a couple bucks and come down here to dump their trash."

Crews periodically clean up the trash, but California Department of Transportation workers and police agreed that the most recent build-up was the worst they can recall seeing.

"The good thing is that we have inmates here to do the work so it's not as costly to the taxpayer," said John Olivia, Stockton-area superintendent for Cal-Trans.

The agency is charged with maintaining state roads and the area surrounding them.

A jail inmate supervisor said that if he'd known the Lodi situation was that bad, he would have brought twice as many inmates.

The prisoners, who must meet jail requirements in order to work in the community, used abandoned buckets and shopping carts to load the garbage into a large orange truck that compacted the trash.

Then they used rakes and gloved hands to get the rest of it.

A San Joaquin County Jail inmate pulls a small wagon behind him that was left at the homeless encampment along the Mokelumne River under Highway 99. The inmate filled it up with trash and debris. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

"I'd rather be at the dump," said inmate Stacey Cheatham Jr., who explained that both smelled the same but that the dump is more organized.

Cal-Trans employees made four trips to the dump, for a total of 12 tons of waste, said Cal-Trans spokesman Troy Bowers. Central Valley Waste, based in Lodi, collected another two tons of trash that were not on state property, Eubanks said.

Some of the junked items hold value for the homeless, who gather the items and set up whole campsites. A tarp was strung between trees, covering hand-built walls, and another structure held a kitchen of sorts.

One man, who Eubanks arrested on a warrant, had taken to sleeping in the motor home, though most of the siding had been stripped for recycling purposes and the tires were long gone.

Except for the one man who was arrested, police found no people living in the area, though it was obvious that some called it home. Eubanks said that in recent weeks he has warned homeless people to gather any personal belongings.

Had he found anyone, Eubanks intended to direct them to a nearby health clinic aimed at the homeless.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.

First published: Thursday, January 25, 2007