The South Jetty at Humboldt Bay (CA) is currently the site of a semipermanent settlement of about sixty squatter dwellings, many of them housing families, for a total of approximately 300 people. The inhabitants are generally unemployed, transient, disenfranchised and poorly integrated in the surrounding communities, with little or no source of permanent income.
Because it is an unicorporated area (adjacent to the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge), and the occupants are neither renting or owning the property, there are no utilities and services provided to the area; more specifically, there is no organized waste collection and/or disposal service, nor is there any regular recycling program. Because of this situation, waste has been observed to be simply abandoned in the outlying area, with light items being picked up and carried by the wind for often considerable distances, resulting in unsightly and unsanitary conditions.
The area is composed of wetlands and dunes that are an essential habitat for several species of birds, whose ecosystem may be impacted. The problem is compounded by the frequent visits of hunting, fishing and boating in the area that also leave waste behind. In the past decades, the area has been used by neighboring communities as an unofficial abandoned car lot.
It has been proposed to remove the community (SB 39), but this has not been signed by Governor Wilson yet (10/96) and any action may be slow to come. There are currently no alternative locations or facilities for the inhabitants of this community. With this context, it seems reasonable to assume that the immediate waste problem will be present for at least several more months and is worth addressing specifically.
ASSIST is currently seeking funding for support community initiatives to remove the solid waste present on the South Jetty and the surrounding areas. ASSIST volunteers are working with government health officials to facilitate the implementation of a solid waste clean-up of this beautiful area. The Pacific Lumber Company, who owns much of the land on which the waste rests, expressed an interest in cleaning up the dunes and the wetlands so it can be more accessible to day-users. ASSIST is also hopeful that the community can develop means to sustainably control the reoccurance of unsanitary conditions.