Safety in Portland: Frequently Asked Questions

Several programs and initiatives are ongoing to remove trash and keep the city clean and safe, including:
 
Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program: This program dispatches work teams, in response to community reports, to campsites across Portland. Teams work collaboratively with unhoused people to respect personal belongings while removing trash such as old household items, food waste, discarded furniture, drug paraphernalia and more. From July 1, 2023–Jan. 15, 2024, the program collected 5.1 million pounds of garbage.

Trash For Peace: This program pays people experiencing homelessness $20 an hour to pick up trash in Portland. Each week, through its Ground Score Association litter collection program, the organization collects 10,000 pounds of trash each week, and it provides 150 community members with low-barrier jobs in waste prevention, recycling and environmental conservation.

Downtown Portland Clean & Safe: This organization provides neighborhood improvement services, such as cleaning and security, within a core 213-block area of the city. In January 2024 alone, the team’s janitorial programremoved 4,521 biohazards, 1,573 graffiti tags, 4,167 bags of trash and 3,910 needles.

SOLVE:  SOLVE mobilizes community volunteers in clean-up events around the state, and in nine Portland business districts, 668 volunteers picked up 3,290 pounds of trash in 2023.

90-Day Resets: The city is working in cooperation with businesses in targeted neighborhoods to address livability and safety issues by devoting resources to cleaning, graffiti removal and increased lighting. The initiative has been tested in Old Town and Central Eastside districts, and the model will be deployed to other areas around the city.

Clean Start: Central City Concern operates a homeless-to-work program that provides trash removal and cleaning services in the metro area. In September, Multnomah County approved a $1.5 million allocation to expand the program.

Union Pacific Partnership: Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has partnered with the CEO of Union Pacific to prioritize and accelerate trash and graffiti removal along the railroad’s rights of way.

Legislative Funds: In its short 2024 session, the Oregon Legislature approved $20 million in clean-up funds for the Oregon Department of Transportation to address graffiti, camp and trash cleanups along Portland freeways, as well as invest in prevention measures, with work beginning in March 2024.