10,000 pounds of trash removed from Seattle public park

SEATTLE — You never know what you will find in lush Kinnear Park on the west side of Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill.

“Ten thousand pounds of trash,” said Andrea Suarez from the outreach group We Heart Seattle. “Including organs, mattresses, weightlifting equipment, Halloween costumes, suitcases, couches, ottomans, camping gear, boxing gear, shopping carts….”

RELATED | City clears homeless camp in Seattle’s Kinnear Park, but tents reappear within days

Over the last week, the organization brought in volunteers to clean up the massive mess.

“A lot of it’s illegal dumping. It’s well-intended donations. People hike it up here to make a life for themselves, and what it is is… it’s a catastrophe,” said Suarez.

Every pile of trash in the park has a story, with Suarez explaining the circumstances of several sites.

“Our understanding is the couple living here refused services from us multiple times. We were told that they found an abandoned RV to move into, so this is clearly their abandoned camp,” said Suarez.

We Heart Seattle says one of their cornerstones is setting an example for change through volunteering.

“Actually, most of the volunteers were homeless at one time, and it’s really gratifying to see that they have found their way back from addiction, homelessness,” said volunteer Russ Perkins.

The group organizes pop-up cleanups across Seattle. It’s tough work, and they say no one should have to do it.

“This should be unlawful. This is property damage, this is vandalism, this is property destruction. This is unlawful, unsanctioned camping, and we need to enforce this type of camping,” said Suarez.

Destructive camping is happening on land that belongs to all of us, polluting the delicate PNW ecosystem and perpetuating an ongoing community crisis — but the volunteers of We Heart Seattle are working to change things from the ground up in a very literal sense.