Get Caught Up

In 2022, the Port of Bellingham signed a 15 to 25 year lease with Canada’s ABC Recycling. The lease allows for metal storage and collection at the Log Pond within the Bellingham Waterfront. 

The Log Pond is a cement capped piece of land that is just south of the residential development area of the Waterfront. It is a Dept of Ecology clean up site, securing mercury from the environment. 

  • The metal piles are hundreds of feet across and are several stories tall.
  • The company is based in Canada.
  • The metal is trucked in from parts unknown.
  • The metal is moved again with cranes and dump trucks to the Shipping Terminal, where more cranes load a ship over 6-10 days.
  • 7 ships are currently scheduled, with more to come in the coming years.
  • The moving and loading occur from 7am to 3AM in the morning.
  • The crashing metallic noise can be heard around the city, and cannot be categorized by decibel level, but by the horrible character of its frequency.
  • A metal shredding facility is in the planning stages near Locust Beach and the Birchwood neighborhood.
"This is not only about noise. Its far bigger than that. Its about quality of life for residents, building a Bellingham that supports all residents, and meets the goals set by the Waterfront Plan, the Shoreline Master Plan, the Port of Bellingham, and the City."
Scott Jones
Bellingham Resident

I can't hear the noise, why should I care?

The Waterfront is a rare opportunity to develop an industrial location into a beautiful development of parks, academics, residences, offices, and maritime industry. 

It may still fail if current or future developers are not willing to risk their investment due to a massive rusted metal pile so close.

With the Waterfront and Downtown interconnected, the success of the Waterfront will mean further success for Downtown.

The metal pile does not follow the intention or the goals of the Port’s Waterfront Plan.

The loose loading, by claws, of the metal to a ship over open water is near protected Eel Grass Beds, so important to Salmon and Orca habitat.

We should not only act when our own lives are affected. We must act together, with empathy, when the quality of life of others is affected for so little gain.

 

Next Up:

Toxic History