Caltrans has removed 1,213 tons of trash — enough to fill 22 Olympic-size swimming pools — while clearing hundreds of homeless encampments in the past year, an achievement hailed this week by Gov. Gavin Newsom despite ongoing criticism of the highway program.
In total, Caltrans has cleared 1,262 homeless camps since September 2021, averaging 100 camps cleared a month, according to the governor’s media office. Newsom personally took part Thursday in an event to “highlight the successful state efforts,” joining cleanup efforts at an encampment along Interstate 10 in Los Angeles.
“Leaving people on the streets and our highways is dangerous and inhumane. It’s unacceptable,” Newsom was quoted in a Friday news release. “California is investing billions of dollars to house thousands of people and clean up our communities and streets. Our efforts are a model for the nation, and more importantly, we’re getting people off the streets and into the housing and services they deserve.”
