SEATTLE — Seattle is ramping up cleanup efforts as it prepares to welcome tens of thousands of visitors for the FIFA World Cup this summer, with a new report highlighting millions of pounds of waste removed, hundreds of thousands of sharps collected, and growing community participation across neighborhoods.
The Seattle Clean City 2025 Community Impact Report, released April 14, outlines what the city calls a year of major milestones, stronger partnerships, and expanded, data-driven strategies aimed at keeping streets and public spaces cleaner and safer.
SEE ALSO | An inside look at the emergency operations center for World Cup match days in Seattle
In 2025, Seattle Clean City and its partners collected and removed 5.3 million pounds of waste from the right-of-way, an amount the report compares to “the weight of about 530 orca whales.”
Crews and partners also collected and disposed of 661,105 sharps, i.e., needles.
The report also points to community involvement through Adopt a Street, which logged 31,938 volunteer hours valued at $1,286,463, and says Clean City programs responded to 34,700 service requests.
“Seattle’s strength has always been its people,” Seattle Council President Joy Hollingsworth said in a press release. “This work shows what’s possible when neighbors, community groups, and the City come together with shared responsibility and pride for our neighborhoods.”
“As we look ahead to welcoming the world for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, this work reflects our commitment to our community,” SPU General Manager and CEO Andrew Lee said. “We’re focused on building clean and healthy neighborhoods and making sure our city looks its best for our residents, businesses, and visitors every day.”
The report describes cleanup efforts as a shared citywide approach involving community members, volunteers, neighborhood groups, small businesses, nonprofit partners, and multiple city departments.
It further notes that Adopt a Street now has more than 2,000 active volunteers and highlights the Public Place Litter & Recycling program, which services more than 1,145 litter and recycling cans across Seattle and includes upgrades that the city says significantly reduced overflow, vandalism, and illegal dumping.
Seattle Clean City also emphasized data-driven work in 2025, including expanding its Illegal Dumping Camera Pilot. The report says the pilot reduced incidents at some hotspots “from dozens per year to zero.” The city also reported improving data quality to better track dumping tonnage and service response times, and using more than 34,700 service requests across five programs to model hotspots and optimize proactive routes.
Looking ahead, the report says Seattle is getting ready for global events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, forecasting increased debris loads and coordinating citywide cleaning strategies with partner agencies.
With more than 750,000 visitors expected during the 2026 World Cup, Seattle Clean City says it is leading an interdepartmental effort to ensure streets and public spaces are ready, building on 2025 work that included refined routes, strengthened partnerships, expanded pilots, and improved technology.
