Win prizes, save Puget Sound: Help Sustainable West Seattle take down the Tox-Ick Monster!

Look out at the blue water of Puget Sound today. Think about what you don’t see … the poisonous pollution that threatens the lives that depend on it (including ours). There are easy ways you can help, and Sustainable West Seattle is going to spend the fall showing you how not to feed the Tox-Ick Monster! Here’s their announcement, with a list of presentations you can attend – not just to listen and learn, but also to win prizes:

Sustainable West Seattle is taking on a monster of a problem in Puget Sound with a new campaign that empowers citizens to curb toxic runoff.

The group is hosting a series of free educational events, September – November. Audience members will be eligible to win up to $1,000 in prizes like water cisterns, landscape consulting, car-wash gift certificates, oil changes, bus passes, and more.

Toxic runoff comes from many everyday sources, including soap, paint, fertilizers and herbicides, and even dog poop. According to the Department of Ecology, toxic runoff is the No. 1 threat to the health of Puget Sound. Each year, 14 million pounds of pollutants wash from our streets and driveways directly into our rivers and streams, and ultimately into the Sound.

“Most people I talk to think that polluted runoff from our streets and driveways go to facilities to remove contamination,” said Cate White, leader of Sustainable West Seattle’s toxic runoff outreach group. “However, that isn’t true. Most runoff is not treated. Our campaign helps people understand how they can reduce that flow of toxic runoff.”

Keep watch for the ominous Tox-Ick: A Monster of a Problem for Puget Sound posters in your community. “The Tox-Ick Monster is the group’s emblematic metaphor for what toxic runoff is doing to our communities, which is robbing us of our salmon, our orcas, our shellfish economy, and our health,” said Corbet Curfman, designer of the character. The posters will alert the public to the next educational event and opportunity to win pollution-prevention prizes.

Events will be:
Sunday, Sept. 11. 2 pm, West Seattle Christian Church, 4400 42nd SW ($1,000 prizes)
Saturday, Sept. 24, 10 am, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW ($1,000 prizes)
Monday, Oct. 10, 7 pm, Pathfinder Elementary School, 1901 SW Genesee ($1,000 prizes)
Saturday, Oct. 22, 1 pm, Roxhill Elementary School, 9430 30th Ave SW ($1,000 prizes)
Saturday, Nov. 12, 2:30 pm, SPANISH PRESENTATION, White Center Community Cultural Center (aka St. James Annex), 9421 18th SW ($500 in prizes)
Saturday, Nov. 19, 4 pm, Alki United Church of Christ, 6115 SW Hinds ($500 in prizes)

In addition to the community outreach meetings, a new Web site is (up) at www.tox-ick.org as well as new Facebook and Twitter profiles.

2 Replies to "Win prizes, save Puget Sound: Help Sustainable West Seattle take down the Tox-Ick Monster!"

  • nottellingyou September 8, 2011 (10:17 am)

    WHAT?!?! our dogs arent even allowed on the beaches in Seattle. Why ‘Dog Poop’? Love the poster tho!

    • WSB September 8, 2011 (10:26 am)

      It’s not only beaches that feed runoff into the sound. Waste on a parking strip can make its way into storm drains.

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