The Lummi Nation held its biggest community cleanup to date in April.

Lummi tribal members filled 24 dumpsters full with solid waste from reservation lands. Nearly 1,000 tires were removed and recycled. About 270 tons of solid waste were removed, which was nearly twice the 148 tons removed during a similar community cleanup of the reservation in 2009. More than 9 tons of metal were recycled, including appliances.

Staff members from the Lummi Housing Authority (LHA) were on hand to help unload trucks at the two collection sites, make house calls, and clean up illegal dump sites on the reservation.

“We went to 97 homes,” said Christina Solomon, maintenance manager for LHA. “A lot of our residents are low-income and don’t have vehicles to get rid of trash that won’t fit in their garbage cans.”

The Lummi Natural Resources Department obtained a grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and partnered with the LHA to conduct the five-day cleanup. The LHA provided the labor; the Natural Resources Department used the EPA grant to pay for the garbage to be hauled off and disposed at a regional transfer station, and for other materials to be recycled.

Garbage accumulates in undeveloped areas of the reservation as it does in many areas of rural America. People from the reservation community and throughout neighboring Whatcom County who can’t afford to dispose of large items like televisions, appliances, and tires dump their trash on the Lummi reservation, creating illegal dump sites that degrade fish and wildlife habitat.

Community cleanups can help deter that activity, Solomon said. She sent crews to remove the garbage from four of the larger illegal dumps. “In principle, once these dump sites are cleaned up, you won’t see as much on the side of the road, because people will anticipate the next cleanup,” she said.

“It makes everybody feel better about where they live when it’s cleaned up,” she said. “The hope is, you keep cleaning up, cleaning up and it’s kind of contagious.”

Other communities interested in the tribe’s cleanup program should contact Lummi Environmental Program Director Leroy Deardorff at 360-384-2272.