‘Wanting to clean up the city is now a right-wing thing’: Reason reporter questions state probe of We Heart Seattle

A reason.com reporter said critics view the founder of a Seattle volunteer trash cleanup group as a right-wing figure while the nonprofit faces a state investigation tied to its handling of needles.

Bess Byers joined “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio to discuss her reporting on We Heart Seattle and its founder, Andrea Suarez. Asked by KIRO host John Curley why Suarez draws so much animosity, Byers said Suarez had told her critics now view her as a right-wing figure.

“Wanting to clean up the city is now, I guess, a right-wing thing,” Byers said. “But also I think she’s highlighting the failures of these programs and this government that is spending astronomical amounts of money, and it’s getting worse.”

Byers defends Suarez against critics

Byers supports the kind of work Suarez is doing.

“I’m a huge advocate for voluntarism and just community involvement,” Byers said. “Obviously, she’s stepping up where the government has repeatedly dropped the ball.”

Byers noted she has also received harsh comments on her videos about the group.

“If you channeled this much energy into picking up the trash as you do running your mouth on X, the city would be spotless,” she said.

When Curley asked how Suarez might bridge the gap with critics, Byers said she was not sure that was the goal.

“This is the kind of stuff that should be addressed by nonprofits and churches, not by a state that’s going to spend a billion dollars and kick it back to the nonprofits that are connected to the politicians,” she said.

State investigation follows complaint

Byers reported that the state contacted We Heart Seattle in July after someone filed a complaint about the group’s handling of needles. An industrial hygiene compliance officer from the state Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) gave Suarez two days to submit documents, including written safety programs, training logs, meeting minutes and signed hepatitis B forms.

Suarez told Byers she suspects the complaint was made frivolously to disrupt the group’s work. L&I confirmed the inspection began with a referral from a non-employee, but said it could not share results because investigations can take up to 180 days. The agency told Byers that penalties depend on whether violations are found and that its regulatory authority covers only workplaces.

“In other words, you’re free to pick up trash for now,” Byers said in an Instagram video. “Just don’t make it official.”

 

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After the story was published, Byers said she received an email from someone connected to L&I showing the referral came from the state Department of Ecology. Ecology told her it had received the original complaint and passed it along, with different agencies responsible depending on what was involved.

“It’s like all these different government agencies just kind of kicking it off to the next,” Byers said.

How We Heart Seattle started

In her Instagram video, Byers explained that Suarez became frustrated during the pandemic, when public spaces were overrun by homeless encampments, drug use, and garbage. After reaching out to government agencies and getting nowhere, Suarez bought gloves, bags, and pinchers, got sharps containers from a needle exchange, created a Facebook page, and started picking up trash.

Byers reported that Suarez invested about $25,000 of her own money. The group now has more than 3,000 volunteers, holds weekly cleanups and has picked up 2.2 million pounds of trash without receiving taxpayer dollars.

While reporting the story, Byers attended a cleanup and was paired with a volunteer who told her he met Suarez in 2021.

“He met her in 2021 when he was living in a tent addicted to meth, and through her work, he’s been able to get off the street, get clean, and now he’s one of their outreach coordinators,” Byers said. “I just think it’s a testament to the power of community, voluntary community.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The John Curley Show” weekdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM.

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