From toilets to trash, Seattle neighbors complain illegal dumping on the rise

If you go into the alley behind Doug Zeigler’s North Seattle home, you’ll find an abandoned toilet and a bunch of other trash that he says is just the latest in a growing problem with people illegally dumping.

“A couple of months ago, somebody dumped a convertible couch right behind our house that was so heavy I couldn’t actually lift it myself. A chair was dumped there. There’s now a toilet back there. There’s just a bunch of stuff that’s just ended up there,” he says.

Zeigler and his neighbors wonder if the increase in illegal dumping could be tied to the temporary closure of the city of Seattle’s garbage-transfer station in Wallingford. Work on a two-year massive overhaul began in January.

“There’s been more stuff back there in the alley than we’ve ever seen. It just seems like a change has gone on since the transfer station closed,” he says.

Seattle Public Utilities confirms it has seen a 25 percent increase in reports of illegal dumping in the city this year. But officials say that doesn’t mean there’s actually been more dumping, just the reporting of it.

Vic Roberson, SPU Division Director, says there’s no evidence of a direct correlation with the transfer station’s closure.

“That’s primarily because we made it easier for customers to let us know what’s going on in their neighborhood,” says Roberson.

SPU customers can report illegal dumping via the web, phone or through the city’s “Find It, Fix It” mobile app. Once a complaint is filed, an SPU representative investigates the report and assigns a work ticket for a crew contracted through the Washington State Department of Corrections to pick up the trash.

“Typically, in the past, we’ve had about a seven day turnaround for about 85 percent of the work. However, because we’ve gotten a lot more calls and our staff has not increased, we’re backlogged a bit,” says Roberson.

Zeigler questions SPU’s assessment of the situation. He says he and neighbors have definitely seen an increase in illegal dumping this year, and one neighbor had to make multiple calls before finally getting trash removed.
 
“It ended up sitting out front for a number of weeks before a pickup actually occurred. I want to say, literally, three weeks,” Zeigler says.

The items most commonly reported are TVs and computers; furniture; paints, solvents and other potentially hazardous liquids; tires; garbage, yard waste, and construction debris, Roberson says. The fine for illegally dumping is $150 for a first offense, $500 for an additional violation.  

“Reporting is up because we’ve made it easier and we should make it easier for customers,” Roberson says.