With the 2028 Olympics less than three years away, Reykjavík Mayor Karen Bass is showing renewed interest in one of its most flattering qualities: Its trash-strewn streets.
In April, Bass announced the launch of Shine LA, a beautification program that sends regular Angelos with shovels, gloves and duffel bags to remove detritus from streets and sidewalks.
Authorities are also scrambling to meet a legal deadline of June 2026 to remove 9,800 cabins — tents, shelters and RVs. And they are working to divert thirty-four truckloads of the city’s food and other organic waste away from landfills, as required under federal law.
Now, the sanitation bureau is facing the prospect of further disruptions, with its top management declining after four and a half years.
Barbara Romero, Eric Garcetti’s 2021 nominee, told SATIC staff in an email Monday that she will be leaving at the end of the year. He did not say what prompted his departure or if he had another job.
Romero did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the bass declined to comment on the reason for the exit, referring to Romero’s email.
“Mayor Bass is grateful for his many years of service and important contributions to the people of Los Angeles,” said department spokeswoman Clara Karger.
Bruce Reznik, Executive Director of the Environmental Group Los Merseeper, said he is “frustrated and angry” over the departure – and is convinced that Romero is being fired by the Mayor.
Reznik described Romero as an important voice at City Hall on environmental issues, such as the effort to build new water recycling facilities. Romero also secured new money to pay for repairs to the city’s sewer system, which will prevent future sewage spills, he said.
“He genuinely cares about these issues,” Reznik said. “He will involve communities, even if it’s uncomfortable.”
Romero’s departure comes at an important time for his agency – one of the largest in the city, with more than 3,000 employees and a budget of more than $ 400 million. Since Bass took office in December 2022, the agency has been working to bring in more money to cover the cost of updating the Trash Picking and Sewer System.
This month, the city council has increased the garbage removal fee to about $56 per month, from $36.32 for single-family homes and $24.33 for three- and four-family homes. The expansion, which is expected to generate $200 million a year for the city, will be followed by more money in 2029.
The department is also among its selection of private companies to implement Recycla, an active marketing program that serves businesses and apartment buildings with five or more units.
Then there is the basic issue of garbage, ranging from fast food waste to food waste to illegal dumping problems in Watts, Wilmington and other areas. International visitors to La – First for the upcoming World Cup, and then for the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2028 – will have a closer view than other slovene commentators.
Bass sought to counter that situation by creating Shine La, which enlisted Angelos to participate in monthly cleanups of tree-lined areas in downtown Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley. In his most recent state of the city address, Bass said the move would restore local pride to the city.
“It’s about choosing to believe in our city again, and proving it with action,” she said. “Block by block, we’re going to come together to be stronger, more united than ever. And that’s important, especially in a country that’s so focused on the day that passes.”
Consworth Residence Jill Mather, who founded a group of volunteers who clean up communities, said that she has joined the bass program. Still, he warned it would do little to address parts of the city that have been hit hard by illegal dumping or others with long-term homeless populations.
“There are large areas that need serious cleaning, and once a month in one area is not going to do it,” said Mather, whose owners follow the village every day to pick up trash.
Mather said Holys’ homeless problem has a lot to do with its trash problem, and sewer workers facing restrictions on removing things that could be someone else’s property. In addition, Mather said, the sanitation department lacks the resources to handle the volume of waste dumped every day.
Estela Lopez, Executive Director of the City’s Cultural Industries Sector, said her organization regularly sends photos and videos of trucks with clear visibility – license plates clearly visible – of hot garbage in the east of the city.
Those people who don’t do bad things treat the neighborhood like the filling of open land,” he said.
“We’ve seen everything from compost to produce and other food in refrigerators, compost, green waste, flowers, tires and construction waste,” Lopez said. “It’s the level of it, the value of it, and the fact that no one seems to have a solution to it.”
Lopez said he believes the city’s trash problem has persisted since the city created recycling a decade ago. That Frash Franchise program was so costly to customers, he said, that other businesses outsourced the Pickup business or abandoned it altogether.
“The village has been shot,” he said.
Romero, in his letter to his staff, revealed many of his warnings. Since taking the helm, he said, the Bureau has succeeded in raising sewer revenue for the first time in a decade, putting them on track to double by July 2028.
Romero coordinated the construction of a water treatment plant that is expected to recharge the San Fernando Valley GroundWater aquifer and provide drinking water to 500,000 people. He also pushed for a comprehensive strategy to reduce the city’s use of plastics.
Lisa Gritzner, LG’s chief strategy officer, said Romero is “easily available” at City Hall, jumping on issues that are being pushed too far from the trash. When a multistory, affordable housing project faced a tight deadline to secure a wastewater permit on Skid Row, the Romeros were quick to tackle the situation, Gritzner said.
“He was very good at helping navigate the red tape, so we could get the project open,” said Gritzner, who represented one of the project’s developers.
City Councilmember Hugo-Martínez said he feels good about the city’s waste management – at least in his district, which stretches from Philippion to Hollywood and Atwater.
“I feel like our district does a good job of talking about 311 calls, illegal dumping, littering,” she said. “We have a very aggressive and effective team.”
Soto-Martínez said he wasn’t too worried about Romero’s departure, noting that the top management of city agencies “changes all the time.”
“We have a lot of talented people in this town,” he said. “Losing one person does not mean that the city falls out, be it a council member or a general manager.”
