Fighting for healthier food systems

Every fall, spawning salmon return to the streams and rivers around the Puget Sound. But their journey, and the health of our local ecosystems, is increasingly shaped by something we don’t always see, which is how we manage the hazardous materials we use every day.

From bathroom cleaners and paint to motor oil and batteries, everyday products can make their way into our waterways if not handled and disposed of properly. What might seem like small, routine decisions at home can have lasting impacts on the environment, the food we grow, and the health of our communities.

Last year, the Haz Waste Program led a research and community project that asked residents to explore what waste management meant to them through photo journals. Participants documented neighborhood P-patches, backyard streams, cultural festivals, and shared meals, capturing the many ways environmental health is tied to daily life.

These images serve as a powerful reminder that when hazardous products aren’t handled and disposed of safely, they don’t just disappear. They can find their way into the soil we till, the gardens we grow and the food we eat.

“I have a community garden plot in the Ballard P-Patch and it's yet another space that I go to connect with my environment more intimately,” wrote Moji Igun in a photo caption illustrating her photo diary and her personal connections to waste management. “I can get my hands in the dirt and chat with my fellow gardeners, sometimes learning new gossip that reminds me how interconnected we all are.”

This idea of interconnectedness is at the heart of both environmental health and food sovereignty, the concept that people have the right to culturally appropriate, nutritious, and affordable food, along with the ability to grow, harvest, and access it.

Though it may not be the first connection people make, a growing body of evidence shows that how we use, store, and dispose of hazardous materials has real downstream effects on the land and waterways that sustain us.

For example, research has shown that polluted water runoff from rain is taking a serious toll on salmon populations. In 2020, scientists identified a chemical called 66PPD-quinone (6PPDQ), commonly found in vehicle tires, that can wash into streams during rainstorms and has been linked to the deaths of up to 90 percent of spawning coho salmon before they are able to lay their eggs.

You can spot these salmon each fall, flashes of silver, pink bellies, and shimmering scales, as they return to places like the Cedar River, Carkeek Park, the Duwamish River, and other freshwater systems across the region. But their journey is already a difficult one, and pollution is making it even harder.

The ripple effects extend beyond salmon. They touch the broader ecosystems we depend on, and the food systems that sustain our communities.

“Food sovereignty is the political and legal right to harvest and consume adequate and nutritious food. Indigenous food sovereignty moves beyond that,” explained Dr. Charlotte Coté, Professor and Chair of American Indian Studies at the University of Washington. “It moves [that right] back to us—placing it in our hands. It’s our responsibility to reengage with our foods in a cultural and spiritual way.”

For Dr. Coté, this work is personal. She was born and raised on the Tseshaht reserve in Canada.

“I was born and raised to be around fish. It’s a major part of who I am, my cultural identity, and the research I’ve conducted.”

She has dedicated her career to Indigenous knowledge systems, food sovereignty, and coastal food traditions.

“It’s not just about putting food on the table,” said Dr. Coté. “If you’re bringing [people] to harvest foods, to fish or hunt, you’re having them reengage with their ancestral homelands.”

Dumping cleaning products down the drain or improperly disposing of household chemicals may feel far removed from these larger systems. But in reality, they are closely connected.

By safely managing hazardous materials, through proper storage, use, and disposal, we can help protect our waterways, support healthier ecosystems, and contribute to a more sustainable and equitable food system.

The Haz Waste Program supports this work through collection services, educational workshops, and community-based programs that make it easier for residents to make safer choices and keep harmful materials out of the environment.