Seattle Environmentalist Is One Man Wrecking Crew To Clean Up Polluted River

It’s one of the busiest waterways that feed into Puget Sound and unfortunately its one of the most polluted. But, a Seattle man has taken it upon himself to clean-up the Duwamish Waterway.

Neil Chism is on a mission on the docks and on the water. He’s an engineering consultant by trade, but on the shoreline he’s a one man wrecking crew.

“These are rags they use to sop up oil spills don't want to leave that in the water, more Styrofoam,” said Chism.

Neil has spent the last 6 months cleaning up trash and debris that’s been dumped into the Duwamish Waterway.

“There I found this, this morning, just everything you can imagine, this is some disgusting stuff here,” said Chism.

Twice a week you’ll find Neil tooling around in his cataraft. You name it he’s found it, old fishing gear, plastics, Styrofoam, and food cartons. And, along the way he’s studying how river currents affect where the trash goes.

“To go up and down the sides about a mile south of here and check on the trash, remove the trash and see how it's coming in, and how much is going out, try to stop it before it gets to the ocean,” said Chism.

Lots of wildlife like fish and birds call the Duwamish Waterway home, Neil says the trash that’s dumped in it and on the shoreline are not only an eyesore, but also harmful to their health.

“So, those birds will eat these things and one of these things will take a bird down,” said Chism.

Neil isn’t paid for any of his work it’s simply a labor of love for the environment. And, a reminder he said that it should be everyone’s mission to stop dumping our junk in the Duwamish.

“We live in one of the prettiest cities and areas in the world and this is unacceptable to have this stuff floating by on a regular basis and it's bad for the animals,” said Chism.

The Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition is also instrumental in cleaning up trash and pollutants too. Coming up on February 15th its members will hold a revenue rally on the State Capitol Steps at noon. The group will promote awareness about improving water and wildlife conditions.