Downtown Trash: Lessons from Real-World Operations
Date: Thursday March 19, 2026
Time: 1:00pm Eastern / 10:00am Pacific
Downtown districts face a very different class of street trash challenges. High-density downtown areas experience levels of pressure that traditional street trash infrastructure was never designed to handle, with constant use and limited tolerance for failure.
Can-diving, fires, vandalism, needles, and misuse turn everyday trash collection into a public safety, operations, and behavior-change challenge, not just a cleanliness issue. These conditions place sustained pressure on staff, systems, and public spaces in ways that are rarely visible from policy or design guidance alone.
This peer-led session brings together leaders from Sacramento, San Francisco, and Windsor, Ontario to share what they are seeing on the ground and what is actually working in high-pressure downtown environments, drawing on real-world experience managing street trash day to day.
What we’ll cover
Who should attend
Why Attend
You’ll leave with:
Meet the Panel
Devin Strecker
River District, Sacramento
LinkedIn: Devin Strecker
Devin Strecker is certified as a Leader in Place Management (LPM) by the International Downtown Association (IDA). He serves as executive director of the River District, a property based improvement district (PBID) on the northern rim of downtown Sacramento. A 2022 graduate of the IDA’s Emerging Leader Fellowship, Strecker has over two decades of experience in the place management industry, previously serving as Vice President/Interim Executive Director for the Hollywood Partnership. He is a board member of the California Downtown Association (CDA), as well as the Sacramento Pride Festival volunteer entertainment committee. He has been a speaker at the West Coast Urban District Forum, completed the City of Sacramento’s Planning Academy (2024), and twice served as a candidate for the American Cancer Society’s Real Men Wear Pink campaign. A graduate of Fort Hays State University, Strecker grew up on a farm near Hays, Kansas.
Alex Ludlum
SOMA West, San Francisco
LinkedIn: Alex Ludlow
Alex Ludlum is the Executive Director of SOMA West Community Benefit District, where he previously served as a trustee from the organization’s inception. Prior to joining the CBD on staff, he worked in real estate development with a focus on acquisitions, entitlements, and asset management, most recently as Vice President at SPI Holdings, LLC. A graduate of Columbia University, he currently serves on the boards of West Bay Filipino Center and the SoMa West Neighborhood Association, and was twice appointed as a San Francisco City Commissioner for the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure, where he served as Vice-Chair.
Jim Leether
City of Windsor, OntarioManager
LinkedIn: Jim Leether
Jim Leether is the Senior Manager of Environmental Services for the City of Windsor, where he leads the division responsible for waste management programs, recycling and organics collection, street sanitation, and litter control. He has played a key role in advancing Windsor’s transition to more sustainable waste systems, including the successful rollout of the city’s Green Bin program, which has already diverted hundreds of tons of organic waste from landfill. Jim brings more than 15 years of experience in municipal waste and environmental services, including operational leadership roles with GFL Environmental Inc., where he managed municipal collection programs and contract operations. His career has focused on improving service reliability, advancing diversion, and helping cities implement practical, scalable solutions that support long term environmental goals.