Calendar of Events

The King County Household Hazardous Wastemobile will be at the Des Moines Marina the weekend of April 26 – 28, and all King County and city residents will be able to safely dispose of old car batteries, oil, paint thinner and many other household hazardous items at no cost.

The Wastemobile will be in the parking lot of the marina, located at 22307 Dock Ave South, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

Residents can drop off household hazardous waste items including pesticides, oil-based paints, automotive products (oil, antifreeze, auto batteries, etc.), fluorescent bulbs/tubes and other items free of charge.

There is no charge to drop off unwanted household hazardous waste, because the service is paid for through garbage and sewer utility fees.

Created in 1989, the Wastemobile was the first program of its kind in the nation. It is operated by King County Solid Waste Division as part of the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program, and travels throughout the county from the spring through fall.

Since its inception, the Wastemobile has collected more than 16,000 tons of hazardous household waste from 450,000 customers.

For south King County residents, a convenient alternative to the Wastemobile is the household hazardous waste collection site in the northwest parking lot of The Outlet Collection (formerly the Auburn SuperMall), 1101 SuperMall Way, near Sports Authority. It operates every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Discover Burien (we’re members, and Founder/Publisher Scott Schaefer serves on the board) will be holding its annual ‘Clean Sweep’ event on Saturday, April 20, where everyone is invited to come help clean up our city.

From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Burienites will be out picking up litter, wiping out graffiti, trimming shrubs, planting flowers, sweeping sidewalks and even shredding confidential paperwork, all in an effort to clean up the downtown area.

Clean Sweep was moved to a week earlier than in previous years to better coincide with Earth Day, which is on April 22 this year.

New this year, people can shred financial and other confidential paperwork at a great price while supporting local charities during HomeTask’s Shred Day event, set from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The suggested donation for shredding the first box is just $10, and $5 for each additional box, compared to typical fees of around $35 for a regular box.

All proceeds from Shred Day go to local nonprofits, and some of them will be at the event. Boxes of paperwork can be left at HomeTask before the shredding truck arrives. Home Task is located at 611 SW 152nd Street.

Volunteers will be rewarded for their efforts with breakfast, lunch and a chance to win prizes. Clean Sweep is presented by the city of Burien and the Discover Burien Association. Waste Management is the event’s primary sponsor.

Participants are required to register and sign releases at the old Fire District Station No. 2 beginning at 8 a.m. on the day of Clean Sweep. The station is located at 15100 8th Ave SW in downtown Burien.

After signing up, get energized with a continental breakfast courtesy of local businesses such as Prudential Northwest Realty, including juice contributed by Highline Medical Center.

Debra George, Discover Burien’s events manager, recommends that volunteers bring their own useful yard tools such as shovels, rakes, clippers and brooms. Highline Medical Center and the Law Offices of Linn, Schisel and DeMarco are providing a limited number of gloves, so participants should consider bringing their own work gloves. The El Dorado West Retirement Community is supplying safety vests for volunteers, and Les Schwab Tires is contributing trash bags.

Ivar’s and the Mark Restaurant & Bar will serve participants chowder and hot dogs for a well-earned lunch. Volunteers will receive tickets for a raffle of prizes, including a bicycle, courtesy of Fred Meyer and Collins Chiropractic.

Businesses in Burien’s main downtown area have the opportunity to dispose of unwanted items by leaving them in front of their respective buildings or in the alley before 9 a.m. April 20 for pickup. Please call Debra George in advance to arrange for removal. Call George if items are not hauled away by noon to let her know your location and she can arrange for pickup that day.

Discover Burien is a nonprofit organization that works on Burien’s economic development, promotion and education.

For more information, call the Discover Burien office at 206-433-2882, Debra George at 206-941-7199 or go online to www.discoverburien.com.

During the 2012 Clean Sweep, more than 400 people eliminated over 8 tons of garbage from Burien’s streets, parks and commercial areas; here are some photos from that event as taken by Schaefer (click images to see larger versions):

Nature Consortium will bring together two live painters, over seven live musicians, and 500 shovel-wielding volunteers from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 20 for a unique Earth Day celebration in Seattle’s biggest forest, the West Duwamish Greenbelt.

Located on the eastern edge of West Seattle, the West Duwamish Greenbelt spans nearly 500 acres and is home to bald eagles, foxes, salamanders, and other local wildlife. Like many urban forests, the greenbelt has suffered habitat degradation caused by logging in the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the subsequent invasion of non-native plant species.

Nature Consortium has worked to restore habitat in this area since 2003, combining art with nature by hiring live musicians to accompany the restoration work. Volunteers remove invasive species in the greenbelt year-round, while fall and winter are spent planting new trees and other native plants.

“I continue to choose to volunteer with Nature Consortium because I believe they have the ability to make a real impact in their community,” said one anonymous long-time volunteer. “[I] feel much more like a steward of those restoration sites because I installed those plants two years ago and have a stake in their survival.”

Nature Consortium will partner with Earthcorps on April 20th to lead volunteers through forest ecology workshops and invasive species removal in the greenbelt. This will be the largest of nine volunteer events along the Duwamish River that day as part of the Duwamish Alive service event.

Clarinetists, banjo players, and vocalists will roam the forest as volunteers tackle blackberry bushes and other invasive plants. Local painters Eden Hopkins and Laura Grover will also live paint in the greenbelt, drawing inspiration from the forest and the restoration work in progress.

At 2pm, volunteers and supporters are invited to the Duwamish Longhouse for a community celebration featuring seafood chowder and frybread. There will also be opportunities to learn about the tribe and the EPA’s recently released Duwamish River cleanup plan.

The April 20 event is part of Nature Consortium’s Earth Month. During the month of April, the organization will host volunteer opportunities three days per week and offer prizes to the volunteer with the most service hours. Businesses, students, and community groups are also invited to volunteer during Earth Week on April 16 and 18th. Live music will be provided for groups of 10 or more.

For more information or to sign up to volunteer, visit www.naturec.org.