Marine Debris Waiting in Seattle

An example of marine debris on a beach. Via USDA Forest Service Alaska Region/Flickr

Kayla Desroches/KMXT

A barge that picked up marine debris along coastlines in Alaska and British Columbia this summer has delivered its cargo to Seattle, but organizers are waiting for a variance to go through before they can sort the debris.

Chris Pallister is the president of Gulf of Alaska Keeper, a nonprofit involved in tsunami debris cleanup and one of the main organizations behind the removal, and he says they’re working with a group called Parley for the Oceans, which focuses on the sustainability of the world’s seas.

“Parley for the Oceans wants to sort it all and then recycle a lot of it and use a lot of it themselves in some of the proprietary processes they have for spinning yarn and things like that. They make designer clothing out of it. Any plastic that they can use in their process. I think they’re gonna take all the nets and lines and then they get it all and run it through their process and come up with a fiber at the end of it.”

They can do that once they’re able to go through the debris. Robin Freedman is the Senior Communications Manager at Waste Management and explains through email that the group has been working to get a seperate permit for more than a year and cannot apply for further permits until they obtain those permissions. However, in order to sort the marine debris, Waste Management has applied for a variance from the City of Seattle Department of Ecology and Department of Public Health and is currently waiting for its approval.

Pallister says he doesn’t know when they will get those permissions or how long it usually takes.

“Waste Management’s doing their very best to get it sorted out, and they really, truly want to recycle this stuff, so they’re going to the extra mile to make it happen and they’re providing their yard free of charge and the rest of it, and Parley’s putting money into building containment facilities and things like that, so everybody’s trying really hard to get this done.”

Pallister says this is the first time they’ve gone through this proces and that there’s a lot they can learn and improve upon for the next time around.

Correction 10/23: A former version of this article was vague with regards to the type of document Waste Management is applying for and from who.