FOLLOWUP: Roxhill Park sweep data

One week ago, city crews cleared the Roxhill Park encampment, less than a week and a half after a man was shot in the park. We asked Unified Care Team spokesperson Caitlin Moran for data from the sweep. She replied:

27 people were residing at the Roxhill Park encampment when the resolution took place on Aug. 28. The Unified Care Team (UCT) visited the site six times from Aug. 1-Aug. 28, with three people referred to shelter during this time frame.

UCT removed approximately 21,000 pounds of debris from Roxhill Park on Aug. 28 and 29.

One other note: While SFD callouts to the park had been relatively frequent – up to four per day – before the sweep, the logs show no visits there since last Monday. On that day, they had to deal with tree roots smoldering from a previous fire that had spread underground into the peat.

AlkiBean September 4, 2026 (4:53 pm)

Ten TONS of debris. Disgusting.

K September 4, 2026 (6:45 pm)

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The same number of people living indoors the same amount of time generate roughly 5x that much waste. It’s gross to see the numbers, for sure, but the homeless are not exceptional in the amount of waste generated and statistically generate less than housed people.

This is what consumer society looks like.
- West Side September 4, 2026 (8:09 pm)
  
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  Yeah but homeless throw all their garbage, recycling, and compost into the parks and street. That isn’t a consumer society issue.
- Alki resident September 4, 2026 (8:26 pm)
  
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  The homeless didn’t generate this garbage. They collected it from garbage cans on garbage night, they collected it from people leaving FREE piles in front of their homes after yard sales and house clean outs. The difference is WE have to pay for our own waste bills and for these encampment sweeps, NOT them.
  - Tax Payer September 5, 2026 (10:16 am)
    
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    I see how you used the word “collected” rather than “stole” to make yourself feel better. All the bikes, and other items sure are collected alright.
    - Alki resident September 5, 2026 (1:09 pm)
      
      It’s a collection of garbage. Use any word you want. Try not be bent in half over it the rest of the day.
- Neighbor September 4, 2026 (8:42 pm)
  
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  Please show your stats for this. You’re saying that 27 people will generate 50 tons of trash over 1 month. That’s 100,000 pounds of trash. That simply isn’t true. This isn’t the fault of consumerism. It’s the fault of those people.
- Rob September 4, 2026 (8:45 pm)
  
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  You just made up all that.
- WS98 September 5, 2026 (1:10 pm)
  
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  Other supporting statistics for the amount of waste include: no regular trash pickup and – housed people and commercial businesses often dump their trash on unhoused camps. https://publicola.com/2019/07/10/seattles-homeless-encampment-trash-is-a-home-grown-problem/amp/

Justin September 4, 2026 (5:43 pm)

Insane numbers. Truly insane. I’m glad they got rid of this encampment. It should’ve never been able to get this bad.

Ruckus September 4, 2026 (6:03 pm)

More than 10 tons of debris! Unbelievable.

Thomas September 5, 2026 (12:20 am)

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Not really, his much waste do you think that many people would make living in homes? I can assure you the number would be much larger.
- uncle loco September 5, 2026 (6:36 am)
  
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  The majority of people living in homes pay to have their trash properly disposed of as opposed to letting it accumulate in public parks and expecting someone else to take care of their mess for “free”.
- SlimJim September 5, 2026 (8:52 am)
  
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  If you don’t know how people addicted to certain drugs have compulsion to amass random and massive amounts of useless to them stuff (not just normal “garbage”) you should check it out. Sad, but interesting.
- dontblockme September 5, 2026 (11:14 am)
  
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  @Thomas, Yes maybe so and maybe not but try reading Alki Residents comment.
Justjosh September 5, 2026 (11:45 am)

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The average American generates 1800 pounds of trash/waste every year. While I agree that this never should have gotten this bad, this top line number is not remarkable.

Longfellow P-Patcher September 5, 2026 (5:46 am)

Later that afternoon last Friday at least half a dozen people moved in to the greenspace @ the Longfellow Creek P-Patch directly next to Chief Sealth HS & Denny MS and set up tents along the trail students use to get to school. Sweeps do not solve the problem, but rather push it elsewhere in the area.

1994 September 5, 2026 (10:33 pm)

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Did they have brand new tents?

aa September 5, 2026 (6:51 am)

The comparison between how much waste this group vs. that group produces is not the issue and the people arguing it here know it isn’t. People who live in houses, apartments, etc. for the most part don’t leave their garbage and broken items strewn onto the streets, sidewalks, and public land. I know unhoused people don’t have the same opportunities for refuse pickup and they can take more responsibility in not spreading out their stuff. The city has the capability and responsibility to pick up all garbage. Why lump the two issues together? Why doesn’t the city keep things cleaner even when they don’t have a full plan for relocation? The way its done now it seems everything sits until they do everything. That clearly isn’t working.

LISA September 5, 2026 (6:52 am)

Trash maybe accumulated over time. Years ago, prob 15rs or more, walking in Roxhill park I saw homeless people living there. Shocked me as didnt know people lived there.

Drew September 5, 2026 (7:00 am)

If 3 of the 27 people living in the encampment went to the shelters they were referred to, where did the other 24 go? Pls reply with actual knowledge, not with guesses. Thx.

DRW September 5, 2026 (1:55 pm)

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Thank you DREW. While commenters are fixated on who actually creates more trash we should be focusing on how many individuals actually accepted help to get off the streets. Clearly the majority doesn’t want to be housed. So is it a housing issue or is it an addiction issue? I realize there may be other circumstances involved.
P-Patcher September 7, 2026 (8:09 am)

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Many of them went to nearby parks and greenspaces.

Tom on 26th September 5, 2026 (9:00 am)

@WSB, can you also follow up on the fire response to the bog smoldering around that time, and excavation that was required to stop it? It appears that they had to dig out a significant amount more than initially removed in order to stop it.

anonyme September 5, 2026 (9:19 am)

The argument over whether homeless or housed people generate more garbage is absurd and irrelevant. Twenty-seven people camping in a public park, generating 10 tons of garbage and starting what could have been a catastrophic fire, is not something that should ever have been allowed. Only 3 individuals eventually accepted services; this is a waste of time, effort, and tax dollars. It should have been swept on day one.

Justin September 5, 2026 (10:37 am)

That’s a normal amount of trash. Be nice.

J September 5, 2026 (4:00 pm)

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I think everyone has been nice for far too long.

Neighbor September 5, 2026 (12:57 pm)

Why were the other 24 not arrested? As a functioning, law-abiding citizen, I would go to jail for doing a fraction of what they did.

WS98 September 6, 2026 (4:17 pm)

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You’re kidding, right?! 24 people arrested for what…being homeless? I don’t agree with unmanaged encampment communities because they’re incredibly destructive to the land and neighborhood parks meant for all, but it’s ignorant to suggest they’re all criminals.

flimflam September 5, 2026 (3:59 pm)

Here’s a crazy idea – clear these already illegal camps before people get killed there and before ten freaking tons of trash accumulates.

Drew September 5, 2026 (8:21 pm)

Another few questions…Please remind me what is the entity which “offers shelter“ or “offers services“ when a sweep of an encampment is imminent? Are any of the “encampers“ ID’d? (even if they offer a false ID.) Is there a record kept by this entity of who was offered shelter and services and what their response individually was? If this was done, would this reveal a pattern of encamped persons several times, or even frequently offered services which they declined? If a pattern was revealed, might policy change? Again. Facts not guesses pls. Thx

k September 6, 2026 (8:27 pm)

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The reasons people decline “shelter” offers tend to be ongoing issues, so it is most likely that people who decline once will continue to do so. They decline because they accepted before, had to give up most of what they owned to meet the storage requirements of the “shelter” and then found out it was temporary so they lost most of what they owned for no reason and were back on the street in less than a week. Or they accepted shelter but didn’t feel safe in the shelter (especially women). Or accepting shelter means separation from a partner, or pets who may be one of the only souls who offer them any empathy or compassion on a daily basis. There are not enough shelter beds to accommodate every homeless person in Seattle unless they start stacking them 10 to a bed. Shelter capacity and quality needs a lot of improvement if you want more people to accept.

When people feel they will have more safety and stability on the street than in a shelter, they will refuse offers of shelter. You would do the same.