SF Poop Complaints Drop 25% During Pandemic

Troy Holden via SFist

People are always dumping on San Francisco for it’s poop problem, but the city has done a solid job of wiping it out during shelter-in-place. In a review of 311 complaint data going back to April 1, NBC Bay Area found poop complaints have plummeted nearly 25%. 

1) How is the pandemic impacting San Francisco’s infamously dirty streets?

We obtained thousands of city complaints and crunched the numbers to find out how the global health emergency is affecting the amount of trash, needles, & feces on San Francisco streets.@nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/8a6t8nbqUH

— Bigad Shaban (@BigadShaban) November 25, 2020

“From April 1 to Nov.1, 2020, San Francisco logged 15,656 feces complaints, which represents a 24% decline from last year,” the station reports. “In fact, the city’s grievances about human or animal waste are now at the lowest level in three years. The last time San Francisco received fewer complaints was in 2017, when the city tallied 13,592 feces complaints. Complaints concerning used syringes have also declined during the pandemic, falling 24%.”

That report was filed partially by NBC Bay Area’s Bagad Shaban, who’s been on the poop beat since 2018’s poop graffiti scandal. This website has also covered poop in detail since at least 2015.

The news is not all good, and matter is still being plopped on San Francisco streets. NBC Bay Area found that trash complaints are up 12% over the same period, as people are leaving town, and many thrift stores are not accepting donations.

The drop of a deuce-digit percentage in poop complaints is a testament to the increase in Pit Stop stations around town, and fewer tents on sidewalks thanks to the Safe Sleeping Villages program. But we have plenty of other shit to say when it comes to fixing San Francisco’s poop problem.