The San Francisco Board of Supervisors gave final approval Tuesday to an expansion of the Department of Public Works’ Surveillance Technology Policy to allow the department to use drones to catch people illegally dumping trash in the city.
The policy was also updated to implement a new camera system that consists of automatic license plate readers paired with movable cameras that will be installed around the city.
In addition, anyone caught by the aerial enforcers could also soon face stiffer penalties under an ordinance introduced Tuesday by District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter that would increase fines for illegal dumping from the current maximum of $1,000.
Sauter called for a formal hearing on dumping to review progress on the issue since a report in October said not enough was being done to enforce existing rules. He said increasing fines would help the city recover the cost of cleaning up hazardous waste, construction and industrial debris, and bulky items, which he said can add up in staff time and often exceed the cost of the fine amount.
“Our city’s streets, sidewalks and public spaces should be clean, clear, and safe for all those to move about and enjoy, and the introduction of these two items today will help move us towards meeting that very goal,” Sauter told his colleagues.
The hearing will be held sometime in July, according to Sauter’s office.
The department’s surveillance policy was unanimously updated to expand the Department of Public Works’ use of automated license plate readers and introduce cameras that can pan, tilt and zoom to them to create an “Illegal Dumping Camera System,” according to the legislation.
The cameras are meant to capture more evidence of the people and vehicles dumping items than the license plate readers can capture alone, according to the ordinance.
The Department of Public Works has operated two automated license plate readers at its headquarters and at nine locations since 2021 in a trial of the technology.
The department currently uses drones for disaster preparedness and responses, environmental monitoring and documentation, surveying properties, inspecting projects, and mapping. The updated policy will allow drones to be used for looking for illegally dumped trash and identifying those responsible.
Report cited enforcement gaps
A report from the city’s Budget and Legislative Analyst’s Office in October 2025 said dumping remained a problem in part because of a lack of enforcement of the city’s own policies and of Recology’s obligation to do proactive sweeps of known problem areas, which the report alleged it was failing to do.
The report also said some complaints to the city-operated reporting system made by dialing 311 were handled by the city while others were handled by Recology, making tracking the problem harder. It recommended addressing the lack of oversight of Recology and its own policies, as well as unifying the complaints under one responsible party.
Sauter’s District 3 received the most 311 calls about trash in the city’s most recent data from 2024, according to the report.
The district includes heavily trafficked areas such as Chinatown, the Financial District, Fisherman’s Wharf, North Beach, and Union Square, among other dense neighborhoods in the northeast of the city.
The Bayview neighborhood was also identified as an area where construction and industrial debris are often left.