Earth Day is celebrated globally on April 22 to shine a spotlight on environmental issues with education and action.  Attitudes about recycling, composting, and solid waste have changed significantly since the first Earth Day in 1970.  Landfills were a primary means of disposal of solid waste in Seattle through the mid-1980s.

The University Dump, now a parking lot, closed in November 1954.

See the Archives’ online photo exhibit, The City at Work  for more images of waste management and environmental cleanup efforts in Seattle over the years.

Item 44896 Seattle Municipal Archives
 

 
Searching the Archives online indexes using keywords such as solid waste, environment, pollution, and recycling will lead to records in our collections outlining city environmental policy and how it has changed over the years.