‘Eye-Popping’ Number of Hypodermic Needles, Pounds of Waste Cleared From O.C. Riverbed Homeless Encampment

A bicyclist rides past piles of trash from the Santa Ana River homeless camp after it was cleared and more than 700 people relocated in Anaheim in February. (Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Mar 10, 2018 / 07:47 PM PST

Updated: Mar 10, 2018 / 07:47 PM PST

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Crews from the Orange County Public Works department have collected nearly 14,000 hypodermic needles and cleared more than 5,000 pounds of hazardous waste �� including human waste — from the vast homeless encampment along the Santa Ana River trail.

The numbers, released last week, represent cleanup work done from Jan. 22 to March 3 along a two-mile stretch of trail spanning the 5 Freeway in Orange to Ball Road in Anaheim.

The tally — 404 tons of debris, 13,950 needles and 5,279 pounds of waste — is “simply eye-popping,” said Shannon Widor, Orange County Public Works spokesman.

“Nothing of this magnitude involving our crews and homeless populations has ever been done before in the county,” he said.

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