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Defecation happens: City Council approves funding for poop cleanup
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Defecation happens. That’s what Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn told her fellow council members Wednesday.
Fiebelkorn and Councilor Nichole Rogers sponsored a measure to make the city responsible for cleaning up human poop on public and private property.
Previously, residents and businesses were responsible for cleaning up human feces on their properties, including adjacent sidewalks and alleys.
With the measure’s passage, the city Environmental Health Department will address defecation by contracting vendors that have experience with hazardous waste disposal. The resolution sets aside $100,000 from the city general fund for that purpose. City administration will work with 311 to create a mechanism for reporting human feces so that the it can be cleaned up.
The measure should protect Albuquerque citizens from communicable diseases that could be spread through feces and prevent excrement from being washed into waterways, according to Fiebelkorn.
“Right now, folks are power washing this down storm drains, and it is ending up in the Rio Grande,” she said.
There were 400 requests for human feces cleanup through the city’s 311 helpline last year, Fiebelkorn said, and those requesting help were told to clean up the feces on their own.
Rogers said she knows community members who did get city assistance cleaning up feces but were charged for the service.
“We live in a city where there are approximately 4,000 people who are unhoused,” Fiebelkorn said. “We also live in a city where there is one 24/7, year-round available restroom. ... I think we should acknowledge that our reduction in public bathrooms is what is leading to this issue.”
