Washington Park Arboretum – A Former Landfill

A Critical Review

The Washington Park Arboretum was a reclaimed land. It used to be a 62-acre

landfill site that operated between 1911-1936. The landfill was cleaned up and

naturalized by Washington State as part of the Winkenwerder Memorial Area of

Washington Park Arboretum, and is now home to the Seattle Japanese Garden.

Site Name: Washington Park Arboretum

Location: 2300 Arboretum Dr E, Seattle, WA 98112

Landfill Size: 62 acres

Park Size: 230 acres

Landfill Date of Operation: 1911 – 1936

Date of Reclamation: 1934

Park Date of Operation: 1953 – present

Land Owner: Seattle

Operator: University of Washington

More than 40,000 trees, shrubs, vines from around the world and a lake filled with
koi and turtles exist on what was once the 62-acre Miller Street Landfill. The landfill
was reclaimed due to the efforts
made by the people of Montlake
back in ’31. The reclamation
process began in 1934 but still, the
landfill is still in operation until
’36. Washington State department
made an impressive step in Source: https://www.thrillist.com/culture/15-landfills-that-are-now-stunning-parks-wastelands-converted-into-parks
reclaiming such land. The what was once polluted water of Montlake and Union Bay
became clean that it is now being used for recreations such as swimming and fishing.
The University of Washington took the control in operating the Park built in the state
land. The two parties agreed to further develop the land that it will be the largest
park in the United States not later than 2035.

Making such big move, other counties also began reclaiming their landfills and
converting it to parks, stadiums, airport and such.

Converting landfills to parks, stadiums and such is indeed impressive, but it requires
a lot of engineering and environmental management. There are many challenges that
can arise in the reclamation process like methane leak, exposure of workers to
microorganism infested materials and the instability of the site/ground that they will
be working on. Some parks utilize methane leak and sell it to make extra profit.

Despite the success of many reclamation process of landfills, our country still doesn’t
have any initiative to do same. The reclamation process can be very beneficial to the
country especially to those people who live in the vicinity of the landfill. They can be
the future benefactors and improve their local economy once the reclamation process
is done.

Harold Christian Doma BS ChE V ChE 515: Solid Waste Management