ECOSS Newsletter, by Erica Sanford
OCTOBER 1, 2014 / ERICA SANFORD / 2 COMMENTS
These nifty cans of dirt represent both art and environmental clean-up.
ECOSS’ resident brownfields expert, Emery Bayley, recently had the whole office abuzz with an unlikely new piece of office décor: a soup can full of dirt. This was not just any can of dirt, but a creative brownfields clean-up solution from collaborative art trio SuttonBeresCuller. Doubling as an art piece and accompanied by a fun video, the cans (which are available for purchase) are filled with contaminated dirt from the site of a former gas station in Georgetown. The cans both remove dirt from the site as part of remediation efforts and raise awareness about SuttonBeresCuller’s community-enhancing vision.
Across from Boeing Field, the station stored fuel for Boeing during World War II. The gas station went out of business in the 1970s. The site has subsequently been home to a dry cleaners and other businesses. Since 2008, SuttonBeresCuller has worked with ECOSS, the King County Brownfields Program, and the EPA to conduct environmental assessments of the site. In 2013, they formed the nonprofit Mini Mart City Park, which purchased the site for remediation. This innovative project—which ultimately will transform the site into a pocket park, public sculpture, and community center—“blurs the lines between public art, architecture, environmental activism and green design,” as SuttonBeresCuller put it. The goal is to provide not only provide public green space to the community, but a potential new model for small site brownfield remediation. Get your can of dirt today while supplies last!