Mayor Durkan launches 'Clean Cities Initiative' to remove waste from Seattle parks

One week after Seattle neighborhood groups sent a letter to officials expressing concern over the "spiraling public health and public safety crisis" in Seattle's parks, Mayor Jenny Durkan has announced a new "Clean Cities Proposal" to address the garbage and waste building up at these public spaces.

The proposal, announced yesterday by the mayor's office, would use money within the current budget and new revenue to provide a "surge of cleaning efforts" in Seattle neighborhoods.

"Hearing from community members all over the city that more needs to be done to clean our public rights of way and parks, departments across the city have been working for weeks on a comprehensive plan that can be quickly implemented following City Council approval of additional funds," Durkan said in a statement. "Our parks have become an important refuge for Seattle residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is critical we keep our parks and playgrounds safe and accessible to all."

Disruptions in staffing and scheduled pickups caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to the buildup of trash and other waste, the city said. Illegal dumping has also increased, as the mayor's office cited data from Seattle Public Utility's (SPU) Illegal Dumping program that showed a 195% increase in the volume of material collected this year.

Durkan's proposal includes plans to double the purple bag program for waste collection from homeless encampments, double the number of trash pickup routes for bulky items, double the number of needle disposal boxes in the city and expand the graffiti ranger program to remove illegal graffiti.

It also creates cross-departmental "Community Clean Teams" consisting of employees from Seattle Parks and Recreation, Seattle Department of Transportation and SPU to "to address illegal dumping, graffiti, and trash in public rights of way, parks, natural areas, and around encampments." This team will utilize data from the "Find It, Fix It" app to remove waste from hotspots around the city.

The total cost of the proposal adds up to $5,594,000, according to a briefing sent to the City Council Wednesday.

According to the briefing, the initiative is "not a proposal to increase encampment removals." However, these encampments were one of the main concerns brought up in the letter from neighborhood alliances and community councils last week.

Instances such as muggings, open drug use, damaged infrastructure, human waste and even a murder-suicide in parks were also cited by the groups.

"Because of COVID-19, regular maintenance, programming and events in these parks have been suspended, leaving them without critical management or the usual anchor of positive social activity," the letter said. "Consequently, our parks and public spaces have become dangerous and chaotic — exactly the opposite of what people need at this moment. And acres of park space have been closed to the public because they have been closed by the City, vandalized or are inaccessible for use to the residents of Seattle."

The neighborhoods emphasized by the city for cleanup efforts include Aurora, Ballard, Capitol Hill, Georgetown, International District, Lake City, University District and West Seattle. No specific parks were named by the city.

Durkan said that these waste removal and cleanup efforts will help the city's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Building on two priorities identified by City Councilmembers – like expanding the purple bag program and needle collection facilities – we can devote some of our new revenue to keeping Seattle clean and ready for recovery for our small businesses and neighborhoods," Durkan said.

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