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Hiking areas becoming garbage dumps

by GARY CHITTIM / KING 5 News

Bio | Email | Follow: @gchittimK5

KING5.com

Posted on February 8, 2010 at 5:49 PM

Updated Monday, Feb 8 at 6:26 PM

SEATTLE - A step ravine in Auburn is home to a small stream, some old-growth trees and a growing mountain of garbage.

"You might just put a rope around that wad of crap right there somehow and pull up that big mess in one blob," shouts Wade Holden to members of his Friends of the Trail work crew.

The hillside off the West Valley Highway is so steep, workers have climb to the bottom and attach ropes to the discarded appliances, car parts, and bags of household trash, while workers topside pull them up and toss them into trucks.

The trash is more than just an eye sore. Dozens of discarded carpet remnants smother out the ferns and other plants on the forest floor. Large cans of flammable paint products were thrown down. Some are full, some are empty, some are leaking.

Holden believes people are choosing to illegally dump their trash in the woods to avoid disposal fees during hard economic times.

He says many are struggling to keep their businesses going. He knows because his own business is having a hard time finding funding.

Friends of the Trail cleans up the worst garbage dump on public lands but is watching much of its funding from government agencies dry up.

His is a very lean operation to begin with. Most of his crews are composed of people working off public service sentences for minor crimes, but he has plenty of expenses. He says he will get through this period but the always difficult task of keeping pace with the state's illegal dump problem gets even harder during hard times.

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Comments: Displaying 1 - 13 of 13

inforelife said on February 9, 2010 at 7:06 PM

Oh, Sorry. I guess that they haven't found my dump sites as of yet

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mount1si1grad said on February 9, 2010 at 4:36 PM

Isee where it says that they haul up up car parts, carpet pieces and the like, but no meth labs.

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kameha said on February 9, 2010 at 2:27 PM

good know the racist conservatives also care about the environment, I thought only liberals did.

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inforelife said on February 9, 2010 at 11:43 AM

Like my Discarded Meth Lab is going to fit in a Bin!

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mount1si1grad said on February 9, 2010 at 11:35 AM

I wonder if there are places they could put a bin or something like that, if then at least some of those who dump their stuff would put it there, so the ones cleaning up after them do not have to climb to the bottom?

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inforelife said on February 9, 2010 at 10:11 AM

I agreed that there's a problem! What the hell gives you people the right to clean up my dump site!

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bobknows said on February 9, 2010 at 8:45 AM

Welcome to Hispanic culture. Thank you Governess Haywire and all you liberal wanks who invite and pay Hispanic culture to take over our once-beautiful state.

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newlogin86 said on February 9, 2010 at 8:23 AM

Do they need more volunteers? I'll join!

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olygames said on February 9, 2010 at 8:06 AM

chuckstr76: Call the cops and give them the evidence. Get these people cited a few times and they might stop.

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chuckstr76 said on February 9, 2010 at 6:19 AM

I live in a private community, on 5 acre plots, off the beaten path. The residents here have run into this same proble several times. What we do is go thru the garbage, look for a local address and deliver the garbage back to their respective owners. It works. We tell them this one is on the house, the next time we call the police and our housing association will press charges.

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asknetguy said on February 8, 2010 at 11:11 PM

In addition with the funding cut for general cleanup of parks and pack it in programs trash is now also filling smaller residential style parks as well. Soon we'll have to travel to far away places just to get to see a garbage free scenery ;(

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aziza said on February 8, 2010 at 9:31 PM

Nice.

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shorewalker1 said on February 8, 2010 at 5:55 PM

This is becoming more and more of a problem throughout the state; there maybe some economic issues but it seems like people just don't give a dam anymore. I use to tease my Montana and Idaho fiends about being able to find a beer can anywhere! Now they tell me!

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