On Friday, September 25, 2026, Healthy Gulf brought together approximately 40 community members, neighborhood leaders, and elected officials for a working convening focused on one of New Orleans’ most persistent environmental challenges: illegal dumping.
The convening was held at the New Orleans BioInnovation Center in New Orleans. Special thanks to State Representative Alonzo Knox for hosting the gathering.
The morning brought together a broad cross-section of people committed to cleaner, healthier neighborhoods. State Representative Alonzo Knox, State Representative Dana Henry, State Senator Royce Duplessis, and State Representative Shaun Mena participated in the convening. Jessica Strange and Ryan Gomez of the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office were also in attendance. Representatives from the offices of Councilmember Jason Hughes District E and Councilmember Eugene Green District D joined the gathering, along with representatives from the NOPD 7th District. City agencies also supported including the department of sanitation and code enforcement.
Being a citywide issue we made sure to reach out and successfully received participation from advocates across the city working directly in communities affected by illegal dumping. Community-based and neighborhood organizations and Community Leaders participated. The groups represented areas, such as New Orleans East and the Lower Ninth Ward where dumping is chronic.
After a brief overview of illegal dumping and the challenges communities continue to experience, participants moved through five focused working areas: Education/Prevention; Remediation/Waste Management; Enforcement/Reporting; Repurposing/Beautification; and Funding/Resources.
Participants spent time in each working session, contributing ideas, identifying barriers, and proposing solutions. Chante’ Davis, Healthy Gulf Fellow generated a quick highlight of themes gathered from the morning work sessions participants were given the opportunity of sharing their own reflections..
The format gave residents, policymakers, community organizations, and advocates an opportunity to move beyond simply identifying illegal dumping as a problem and begin examining what a coordinated, community-informed response could look like.
Immediate feedback was that the participants thought the meeting was very productive and a great use of their time. One participant even shared how the meeting was an action step in the right direction considering how long New Orleans District D and E have endured the illegal dumping issue.
Healthy Gulf’s next steps will be to develop a convening report, organizing recommendations and proposed local and state actions to address illegal dumping. Local input helps inform continued coordination and state task-force recommendations.
State Illegal Dumping Task Force Meeting
- Friday, October 9⋅10:00am – 12:00pm
- Louisiana State Capitol – House Committee Room 1
- 900 N 3rd St b170, Baton Rouge, LA 70802