August 27, 2018
If plastic production isn’t curbed, plastic pollution will outweigh fish pound for pound by 2050, according to a World Economic Forum report in 2016. To respond to the plastic pollution crisis in the world’s oceans, local conservationist and sustainability champion Heather Trim has made it her mission to reduce plastics pollution coming from her community. Trim is the executive director of Zero Waste Washington, an organization whose mission is to protect people and natural world by advocating for products designed and produced to be healthy, safe, and continually recycled and reused. In 2017, the Port of Seattle ACE Fund awarded her non-profit a $10,000 grant to support this work in Burien.
Trim’s project aims to reduce plastics pollution in waterways, reduce municipal costs of cleaning up litter (such as clogged drains), and encourage waste-free behavior changes by Burien residents.
The ACE Fund has enabled Zero Waste Washington to participate in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) development of a litter assessment tool, which is designed to assess litter in a variety of settings.
From beaches to creeks to parks, the litter assessment tool will create “an apples to apples database of litter”, Trim said. For example, it would have the capability to assess and compare the number of cigarettes in one location versus other locations.
Currently there are different protocols for litter in different locations, which makes it difficult to collect and measure data. This tool would apply the same protocol to all areas, therefore making it easier to assess data.
When complete, the EPA will use this tool across the United States.
“The EPA is very interested in looking at litter across the United States with a more quantified point of view,” Trim said.
Trim said Washington State is the first region to test the tool and so far Zero Waste has used four clean ups in Burien to help develop data for the assessment tool.
“(The tool) tells the story about what kinds of litter are being tossed in different locations,” she said.
She said in October the EPA will hold a follow up meeting with all people who participated in collecting data in Washington and finalize the protocol. A litter assessment tool app should be available in 2019.
Zero Waste is also working on the creation of waste reduction messaging, education materials, and outreach to motivate residents to reduce their plastic waste and littering.
At a recent Burien Farmers Market, her non-profit set up games to help educate the community on the impacts of throwing away plastic and to present people with sustainable alternatives to plastic. 
“Did you know that cigarette butts are made of plastic?” Trim said. “People don’t know when they throw (a cigarette butt) on the ground that it won’t compost or disintegrate. They don’t think it’s littering.”
Trim said that without the ACE Fund, these projects would likely not have found their way off the ground. “We’ve received support all around,” she said. “This organization is community-based with lots of ideas coming from the community.”
She said the grant have also helped strengthen the organization which has helped with recruiting more volunteers.
“The Port is a major player in the region; it is important to be responsive to the community.” The ACE Fund Small Matching Grants Program offers the chance to apply for up to $10,000 of Port funding to improve the local environment in nearby local communities.
Community organizations, chambers of commerce, service organizations, youth, athletic associations, or other associations located in or providing services in the cities of SeaTac, Burien, and Des Moines can apply for funding. The Port is presently accepting applications for its second round of grant funding. Applications are open through September 28.
Upcoming information sessions are from 5:30-7 p.m. on:
- Wednesday, August 29th, Des Moines Library, 21620 11th Ave S, Des Moines, WA 98198
- Tuesday, September 4, Burien Library, 400 SW 152nd St, Burien, WA 98166
Learn more about the ACE fund and complete an application.
