As the city tries to contend with junk vehicles and collected waste (see Assembly story), other efforts to clean up Wrangell’s act have been underway.
In April annual community-wide cleanup of parks and roadsides were undertaken by volunteers for Wrangell Pride, while running group Southeast Beasts encouraged people to collect and dispose of litter throughout the month while footing about the island.
Some problems are greater than just the odd can or bottle. Surrounded by wilderness, out of convenience or simple habit some residents have taken to tossing things out illegally. One such dump site is at the end of the Spur Road along Wrangell’s eastern side, also called Ishiyama Drive.
The problem there had caught the notice of Lucy Robinson, an area resident. At the Spur Road turnaround, she makes frequent use of the hardened trail to the nearby beachside. The landing down below makes a good launching point for recreational vehicles, and the beach itself is a fine place for taking the dog or for barbecues.
“The woods are just filled with garbage,” she said of the trail.
Discarded furniture and appliances, tires, household garbage and yard clippings were among the items left there, as well as assorted trash that may have been emptied from people’s vehicles. Quite a bit has built up, suggesting people have been using the site as an impromptu landfill for some time.
“It’s somewhat frustrating that folks are using that area as a dump site,” said Robinson.
Along with Jared Gross and friends Andrew Jylkka and Shahmeer Azmat, the four spent Saturday trying to undo some of the mess. Speaking with the Indian General Assistance Program office at Wrangell Cooperative Association, they got a bunch of hefty bags to work with. Robinson also contacted Public Works, arranging to bring items out to the waste transfer yard for proper disposal.
“We just felt like it needed to be done,” she said.
Working through the afternoon, the volunteers were able to fill up a pickup bed with larger debris and bags of garbage. It was a start, but Robinson acknowledged there is still quite a bit of work to do out there.
She has continued talking with IGAP about possible solutions. “Signage being one,” said Robinson.
“We’re going to look at that,” IGAP coordinator Chris Hatton confirmed.
Her program was recently allotted $30,000 in additional funding for solid waste projects, which is already going toward remediating illegal dump sites around the island. Hiring on two assistants for the project, training and work began on April 10.
“They’re focused on all areas,” said Hatton. “They’ve picked up all kinds of stuff.”
Similar to Robinson’s site on Spur Road, household debris and white goods were commonly found among the improperly discarded items, but also wood and metal debris, and lead acid batteries. “Not a lot, but some,” Hatton added.
The project has also budgeted in some heavy equipment to help tackle larger items, including an abandoned car and a wire spool the workers found. Talks with Public Works and the local police about improving public awareness of the problem have also been had. As with previous years, IGAP will soon begin circulating an updated list of locations people can bring various categories of recyclables and other refuse for proper disposal.
IGAP spearheaded a similar effort back in 2014, focusing in particular on combating improper disposal of discarded fish nets. The office has maintained a collection bin for old nets over at the boatyard, where fishermen can discard them free of charge. The thousands of pounds of nets they collect then get sent south for recycling.
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