The Willamette River has a trash problem. Homeless camp removals could be making it worse

“Am I stuck or do I got a fish? Nope, I’m stuck. That’s all right,” she said with a resigned shrug, settling back into the boat with her two dogs.

Van Zandt was trying to catch something to eat from the Willamette River in North Portland before the sun set. She has been living along the river for eight years. Lately, it’s been getting crowded.

“There’s a lot more people living out here,” she said. “More and more every day. People not knowing where to go.”

More people have brought more trash. A grocery cart bobbing near the shore. Sandy clothes and food wrappers strewn across the beach. Van Zandt tries to compost or burn what she can: “I believe in pack it in, pack it out.” But it’s hard to throw anything away without trash cans nearby.

Over the last few years, environmental groups have been pulling out mounds of garbage from the Willamette River from Eugene up through Portland, a worsening problem that they tie to homeless encampments. It’s gotten so bad, this year Oregon proposed regulations that would require riverside cities, counties and private landowners to remove trash from the river.

Oregon Public Broadcasting is a news partner of the Portland Tribune. Read their full story at opb.org .