Trash Club, a volunteer group in Bellingham, plans to install “Guerrilla Garbage Cans” to combat litter in Whatcom Creek.
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Whatcom Creek is a treasure in Bellingham, but it’s also getting trashed.
Much of the garbage left on the streets makes its way to the waterway, and with the city not putting out garbage cans, locals are taking matters into their own hands.
When Matt Bryant looks at the trash littering the creek, he doesn’t just see garbage. He sees us.
“I’ve pulled many syringes straight out of the water. We find weapons,” Bryant said. “You see the layers of our struggles. You see addiction and consumption and excess and waste.”
Welcome to Trash Club. The group started during the pandemic when Bryant saw garbage piling up along Whatcom Creek, especially in areas around homeless camps.
“I thought to myself someone should do something about that. I had that moment of realizing I’m the somebody,” he said.
The group of bike-riding volunteers meets monthly to do cleanups. Over the past four years they’ve collected an impressive 75 tons of trash.
“Honestly it’s hard to keep up,” Bryant said.
Among those helping with the cleanup efforts is David Banzini, a homeless man who lives near the creek. Banzini assists in the cleanups and uses plastic shopping bags from grocery stores as makeshift trash receptacles.
“The problem is some people feel entitled to do whatever they want,” Banzini said. “My grandpa said leave every place nicer than you found it, if you can.”
When Bryant asked Bellingham officials about simply putting out trash cans along that portion of the creek to cut down on the amount of waste going into the water, he was told it was too expensive — at least $7,000.
It’s also difficult to get a truck down the path for pick up.
Richard Griffin, Bellingham park facilities manager said, “We appreciate the many volunteers who help in this complicated and well-used corridor. The City has multiple trash can locations along this corridor in places our facilities team are able to reach with a truck to empty.”
Trash Club is now assisting the city by launching an online fundraising campaign. With the city’s consent, Bryant is planning to put six far cheaper trash bins along the creek — what he calls “Guerrilla Garbage Cans” — that volunteers will maintain. Fundraiser by Matt Bryant : Support Trash Club’s New Guerilla Garbage Cans
“The full idea behind Trash Club is we are not powerless. We can take action to help improve our situation,” he said.
The hope is that one day when people look at Whatcom Creek, it will be a far better reflection of us.
“We can keep picking up the trash but until we address some of the root causes it’s not gonna stop,” Bryant said.
