To date, the special litter cleanups have taken place over three Saturdays along I-5 on-ramps and off-ramps at Fourth Plain Boulevard and East 39th Street
More than 1,380 pounds of unsightly litter and trash – almost three-fourths of a ton — have been removed from along two major Interstate 5 ramps within the city of Vancouver this fall as part of a new coordinated cleanup effort led by Vancouver Public Works.
Backed by a $40,000 state Department of Ecology Community Litter Cleanup grant, the city’s litter cleanups have been assisted by Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Clark County District Court Community Restitution crews. The grant, created through the Welcome to Washington – Litter Cleanup Act (SB5040), is limited to areas along highway ramps within the city.
To date, the special litter cleanups have taken place over three Saturdays along I-5 on-ramps and off-ramps at Fourth Plain Boulevard and East 39th Street. City Public Works staff have provided the work zone setup, traffic control, data collection, disposal/recycling of collected materials and project oversight, while the county’s Community Restitution crews have picked up the litter.
Much of what crews have cleaned up falls into the category of fast food and to-go packaging – disposable cups, bottles, plastics, paper, and bags – small items that should have been safely placed in a trash bag within a vehicle and properly disposed of later in a trash container. In addition to the litter and trash, crews also collected 14 bags of clean recyclable materials.
With recent increased state COVID-19 vaccination requirements, the city will transition from the use of Community Restitution crews to utilizing approved pre-registered, trained volunteers to help with future cleanups. Information will be provided on the city’s ramp litter cleanup project webpage as details become available.
Litter is preventable, and cleanups are labor-intensive. It can take a lot of time and money to pick up a lot of little pieces of litter. Safety of the cleanup crews is also a significant concern and of the highest priority. Due to risks posed by traffic speeds and limited safe space for vehicles and crews, some ramp medians cannot be cleaned up under the city’s project.
The Department of Ecology estimates that more than 12 million pounds of litter is tossed or blown onto our highways each year. Help keep Washington litter free. Keep a bag in your vehicle to collect trash and unwanted materials and properly dispose of these at home or in designated trash/recycling containers. Remember that whether moving or going to a disposal site, all loads must be secured when transporting materials. Learn more here about statewide efforts to prevent and address roadside litter.
Information provided by city of Vancouver.
Glad to see they picked up a lot! But, honestly, this is but a drop-in-the-bucket when compared to what all needs to be picked up along the rest of 4th Plain, along Mill Plain, along SR500, and along I-205. I name these because these are where I frequently travel. I’m confident there are many more needful locations throughout the City.
Trash is a prime example of what I refer to as a “livability” factor here in Vancouver. Though it is my home, the “livability” of Vancouver scores pretty low, in my opinion. Our streets are the worst around for miles… rough, pot-holed, cracked… just generally in a state of disrepair. You call and register a comment… the response is usually something along the line of “we have this slated for three years from now.” Huh? It needed repair three years ago, and it’s going to wait three more years for repair?
The City of Vancouver, bless their hearts, couldn’t get a manhole cover to be even with the street surface if their lives depended on it! Drive 4th Plain in the area of Andresen, drive 72nd Avenue north of 63rd St., drive out 28th St. past 136th.
And the homeless crap… well, don’t even get me started on that!
So there you go… livability… fix the streets, fix the manhole covers, get the homeless camps picked/cleaned up. And THEN worry about giving the next developer a multi-million dollar break on his tax obligations when he builds $2,400 – $3,000/month apartments on the waterfront. Let’s clean up, pick up, fix & repair what we have before building “more up than out” as our newly elected Mayor likes to say.
Speaking of newly elected Mayor, she shouldn’t be reading too much into the recent election results. With her getting about 65% of the votes, but of the mere 23% who voted, the election is NOT indicative of any “referendum” or “overwhelming support” for her. She has a LOT to do, and a LONG way to go, before she gets any recognition from anyone other than the Vancouver “elites.” She (and most of the City Council?) have forgotten all about the average-joe here in town; it’s only the well-financed elites who get her (and the Council’s) attention.
As I drove around Clark County during the summer months and noticed all of the garbage strung out along the freeways it seemed to me that it had been purposely done. I mean no homeless camp near by to blame it on. But speaking of the homeless camps, get rid of them and that will solve a lot of the garbage problem. Have you drove up 205 and noticed the piles of garbage outside of the camps. It disgusting and embarrassing to live in a town where our city officials don’t give a rats ass about how are town looks.