Antioch Residents Tackle Illegal Dumping

The sight of piles of garbage and blight does not sit well with a group of Antioch residents who have made it their personal mission to clean up Antioch one location at a time.

Lori Cook created the Facebook Group Cleaning Up Antioch, One Home At a Time because she was tired of seeing garbage everywhere. She knew something had to be done so she started taking photographs and posting “problem areas” on social media for others to see.

“I did it because of Nancy Kelly,” explained Cook.  “She drove around a few years ago and saw garbage, broken down cars and would type out a letter and send it. She is not on Facebook or online, so this is an extension of Nancy. With Facebook, everyone will see it and continue what she is doing.”

Quickly, the army of a couple residents jumped to over 500 members who spring into action.

“It’s awesome because it’s people who really care. They will post graffiti updates, post pictures, or just find solutions. People are really starting to pay attention now. I keep telling people you have to start with taking control of your own neighborhood, now we are taking care of our city,” said Cook.

In fact, the group which began focusing on homes, is now working on commercial properties, parks and trails.

In yesterday’s case, a pile of garbage was illegally dumped behind Staples on Lone Tree Way. It didn’t sit right with Cook so she gathered a group together and cleaned up the parking lot which appears to be left from a landscaper.

Cook explained how in the morning she went into the store an asked to speak with the manager. She explained what she wanted to do.

“He looked at me like, wow, really? He couldn’t say thank you enough and was impressed. He even came out and helped,” said Cook.

Cook says there is a lot of people who pick up garbage in Antioch which nobody knows about. She says the City Council needs to know what people are doing and that we care. She explained the cleanups are not for the spotlight, but are because they care. She encourages the city council to be more proactive to cleaning up the city.

“People really do care about the city and are tired of people saying Antioch is the ghetto,” said Cook. “I don’t want to be negative all the time, but nothing is going to get done, it will just sit there if people don’t step up. Hopefully in the future, the city gets more staffing for code enforcement and can take over.”

She says it’s a mentality that needs to change and take pride in one’s city. She explained that earlier in the day for example she was driving down Lone Tree Way and while at a stop light, a person roles down their window and dumps out a McDonalds bag full of garbage.

“I thought did I forget to read that memo that says I live like a pig, you put it in the garbage. Seeing that bothers me,” says Cook.

Cook believes that by working with homeowners instead of reporting them, quicker action can occur but sometimes the city has to get involved. It also creates a culture change and a shift in mentality.

“If code enforcement beefed up then it could go out there and take care of the troubled homes then some of this riffraff would leave town. It would also mean police would not be running from call to call. That is where it is going to start,” explained Cook.

Here is how the group works:

• Drive by a home
• Will come back in a day or so and snap a photo
• Find out who the homeowner is
• Will send a letter encouraging cleanup or offering to help
• Wait for homeowner action
• Work with homeowner on solution
• If nothing occurs, report to code enforcement

Contacts:

Group Homepage:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/657445600961772/
To report suspicious activity, call the Antioch Police nonemergency number at 925-778-2441.
To report graffiti, call 925-779-6950.
To report illegal dumping, call Allied Waste at 925-685-4711 or 1-800 NO DUMPING.
To report abandoned shopping carts, call 1-800-252-4613 or go to www.cartretrieval.net.