Community Environment

Burley Lagoon clean-up pulls 460 pounds of tires, plastic and more out of waterway

The walk to the waterfront at Tom Carroll’s parklike property near the head of Burley Lagoon is about a half-mile down a beautifully maintained trail. It’s not really accessible by car, unless you’re willing to do some four-wheeling.

So why did volunteers participating in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day cleanup project find a car’s worth of tires, along with a spare or two, in the marsh near where Burley Creek meets Burley Lagoon?

Brent Doering, right, tries to identify trash found in Burley Lagoon. Photo by Vince Dice

They were likely left over from rafts that broke loose somewhere and floated up the lagoon. The dead giveaway: The tires were filled with decomposing styrofoam.

None of which is great for the fish, fowl and other wildlife that frequent the lagoon. 

A large piece of styrofoam removed from Burley Lagoon. Photo by Vince Dice

Burley clean-up

Which is why the Friends of Burley Lagoon, a nonprofit formed by neighbors who live along the waterway, did Monday’s clean-up. They were joined by members of the Washington Conservation Corps, a program of the state Department of Ecology that gets young adults involved in habitat restoration and other environmental work. Gig Harbor-based nonprofit Oceans Blue Corp. connected the two groups and organized the effort.

They pulled 460 pounds of litter out of the lagoon on a sunny MLK Day afternoon. The sodden, foam-filled tires provided a decent amount of that weight, at least judging from the effort those Conservation Corps members put in to moving them.

Large pieces of styrofoam in the debris pile following the Burley Lagoon clean-up. Photo courtesy of Carl Marlow

Friends of Burley Lagoon members go out routinely on a less-formal basis to pick up debris. The Conservation Corps gave them more (and younger) manpower on Monday, but the work is nothing new to the people who live on the lagoon. 

Until relatively recently, “we didn’t know how bad it was,” Friends member Carl Marlow said. “Most of the people with property, their houses are way up the hill.” 

Most of the trash floats in from Henderson Bay, passing under the Purdy Bridge on the way. Markings on some of the debris indicates it may have come from as far away as Seattle and the Nisqually Reach in Thurston County. 

Volunteers fill and haul trash bags during the cleanup on Burley Lagoon. Photo by Vince Dice.

What they found

It’s not just tires, either. On Monday, the detritus removed from the lagoon included shoes, sandals, tennis balls, various booze receptacles, antifreeze bottles and your usual assortment of plastic bags. Along with some unidentifiable plastic waste.

Volunteers also located some fishing and aquaculture gear, like nets and cages. 

The plastics, in particular, are bad for salmon. As well as the people who like to eat salmon. 

Carl Marlow lifts debris that had been partially concealed by the grass of the Burley Lagoon marshlands. Photo by Vince Dice

“That’s our driver,” said Janey Aiken of the Friends of Burley Lagoon. “We want to protect the salmon and the other marine life.” 

Marlow said recent changes in aquaculture practices have made the situation better. They still find some debris from such operations, but it’s less than it used to be.

“We’re not trying to be negative about aquaculture,” Aiken said. “It has its place. We’re just trying to clean up Burley Lagoon.” 

The work crew, including members of the Friends of Burley Lagoon and the Washington Conservation Corps, on a snack break. Photo courtesy of Carl Marlow