Hundreds of calls to the city’s 311 system with complaints about human feces on public and private property motivated officials to fund a cleanup effort earlier this year. The City Council unanimously passed an ordinance in February with $100,000 in start-up funds for a so-called “poop patrol.”
But knowing the funds would quickly be depleted — officials say the $100,000 was drained in a few months — the bill also directed Mayor Tim Keller’s administration to develop an ongoing program to address the problem. Human feces removal and cleanup is now overseen by the city’s Environmental Health Department (EHD) and is funded from its budget.
EHD’s Deputy Director Terrance Smith said that removal and cleanup requests are on the rise and that the costs are significant.
“The growth has been tremendous as far as 311 calls,” he said.
Smith said Albuquerque biohazard company Specialized General Services (SGS) has been under contract since April 1 to handle the requests. He said more than $100,000 has been spent so far, but that exact figures, including for the most recent month of August, weren’t immediately available.
Smith said when a request is called into 311, the department vets it to ensure it’s appropriate to route to the company.
“We try to get [the information] out to the contractor as soon as possible, within 24 to 48 hours, and they take it from there,” Smith said.
He said SGS employees wear protective gear and are trained in proper disposal techniques and the use of specialized equipment.
“There’s a standard for the handling and disposal of bio waste. It’s got to be dealt with in a certain way and the city recognizes the public safety hazard,” Smith said. “We’re taking measures to make sure that we can try to keep the public as safe as possible by trying to clean it up as quickly as possible.”
No sign of slowing down
The issue is one of public health, as there are an estimated 5,000 people living on the streets in Albuquerque with limited access to reliable restroom facilities. On many occasions, people relieve themselves outside — in alleyways and behind vegetation — and in other areas on public and private property.
City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, co-sponsor of the measure with City Councilor Nichole Rogers, said she’d hoped to kick-start a discussion among city officials about how expensive ongoing removal and cleanup is and the longer-term need for more public restroom facilities and housing options.
The city’s only 24/7, 365-day-a-year public restroom is located in Fiebelkorn’s district at the Uptown Transit Center — a Portland Loo. The Loos are popular in many cities for the ease of maintenance and cleaning, and features that help curtail sexual activity and drug use.
Fiebelkorn and others, like the Bernalillo County Health Equity Council, say the issue is not only about public health, but also one of safety and human dignity.
“The idea that we can somehow regulate people’s bodily functions is just crazy,” she said. “People have to use the bathroom.”
Fieblekorn said that while her constituents regularly contact her about the problem, most show some empathy.
“They’ll say: ‘Councilor, there was a woman by my porch and she went to the bathroom,’” she said. “Yeah, because it’s private. I mean, can you imagine how scary it is to be in public, you have to go, and you’re literally removing your clothes? I would seek out behind bushes or an alley as well.”
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