DPW seeks private sector collaboration to speed up abandoned vehicle removal

Abandoned cars lining Guam’s roads aren’t just an eyesore – they can post health risks, environmental hazards, and cost taxpayers millions to remove.  Now, the Department of Public Works says a new plan, backed by federal funding, could finally speed up the cleanup.

An oversight hearing led by Vice Speaker Tony Ada and his Legislative Committee on Land, Environment, Housing, Agriculture, Parks, and Infrastructure zeroed-in on one persistent problem across the island: abandoned vehicles. For many residents, it’s a daily frustration, but for DPW, it’s a complex and costly operation.

Agency director Vince Arriola says despite being mandated to handle abandoned vehicles, enforcement has gone unfunded. Instead, crews responsible for road maintenance, like filling pot holes and grass-cutting, have been juggling both.

So DPW is shifting gears.

With a $2 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, DPW is preparing to put our requests for proposals to bring in private recyclers to take over vehicle removal. “We know the market is there, we know the private sector is there that can assist the government," he explained. "It’s just a matter of putting it out for bid.”

DPW has already identified several recyclers who can tow, dismantle, and ship vehicles off-island – or strip and repurpose parts. That could mean faster removals, and cleaner roads, for residents.

But Arriola says it’s not as simple as picking up a car and hauling it away, as he noted, “Before we handle it and dispose of it, we have to drain all the oils, lubricants, transmission fluid, gear oil, related fluids, gasoline of course. We have to remove the debris because none of the abandoned vehicle recyclers, they do not want to handle household trash in addition to the vehicle itself.”

Many vehicles are filled with trash, hazardous fluids, even dead animals, adding time, cost, and safety concerns. Right now, DPW estimates there are between 13,000 to 15,000 abandoned vehicles across Guam.

Their goal? Remove about 4,000 a year.

At roughly $400 to $600 per vehicle, contracting the work out could prove efficiency and reduce the strain on DPW's limited workforce.  But one major challenge remains: where to put them.

Arriola added that the department lacks a proper staging site, which slows the process down. Without a dedicated, environmentally compliant location, vehicles can’t be processed at scale.

Ideally, the department would acquire a 10-acre site, which would also create an opportunity for residents to turn their cars in to DPW directly – again, ideally at no cost – instead of abandoning them.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are asking a bigger question, with Senator Chris Duenas posing, “What is the direct correlation with the tax collection on our payment of our annual registration and what is your access to that funding for this purpose?” He added, “That really cuts to what most people think about and what most people are angry about…where that goes.”

That answer is expected from DPW as the budget cycle begins. For now, the agency says the EPA funding is a starting point, but whether it’s enough to keep Guam’s roads clean remains to be seen.