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This map shows how pollution has a disproportionate, harmful impact in South Seattle, which has primarily low-income communities and communities of color. The dots are sites that release, store or use toxic chemicals and hazardous waste.

CCEJ Campaigns

South Park Bridge
Clean and Safe Ports Campaign
Toxic Beauty Campaign
Annual Conference
Outreach & Education

South Park Bridge

CCEJ is helping the South Park community organize to demand rapid replacement of the South Park Bridge, its main connection to downtown Seattle. This is an Environmental Justice issue because it forces residents of an already-marginalized community to travel further (and thus pollute more) just to maintain their current lives. The community has known for years that the bridge had to be replaced and political leaders had agreed to do it. But now the bridge is scheduled to be closed on June 30 with no firm plan for replacement. In a more affluent neighborhood, this problem would have been resolved without imposing this hardship. The County cries poverty while spending on similar services for rich neighborhoods.
CCEJ is helping to organize the South Park Bridge Action Alliance, composed of South Park residents and their supporters. SPBAA has held several meetings to generate public support for keeping the bridge open and, if it closes, for mitigating the damage and pressing for rapid replacement. For more information, contact southparkbridge@gmail.com (206) 339-0839.

Clean and Safe Ports Campaign

CCEJ, along with many other allies in the Seattle area, has joined in the Clean and Safe Ports Campaign, which aims to establish environmental justice for the truck drivers who bring goods to and from our ports. Essentially, the trucking companies are offloading the costs of complying with clean air regulations onto the drivers and the surrounding communities. The campaign fights back in the media, in the courts, and most of all in the communities. CCEJ has done our part by organizing the community in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle. Here is a photo of some of our team.

Toxic Beauty Campaign

The Toxic Beauty Project was a collaborative project between CCEJ and the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (ECOSS) that aimed to improve human health and the environment in nail salons located in low income communities and communities of color. Many chemicals found in beauty products that are commonly used in salons are hazardous to human health, and nail salon technicians are exposed to them on a daily basis. In King County, as well as nationwide, the majority of salon workers and owners are Asian immigrant women, so exposure tends to be disproportionate. We involved all individuals and groups in the process of promoting the use of safer practices and products, from consumer to business owner, salon employee to beauty industry

For consumers and nail technicians, these websites are resources you can use to help find cosmetics that are safe:
www.safecosmetics.org
http://toxicfreelegacy.org/campaigns/safe-cosmetics/safe-cosmetics-campaign
www.nailsmag.com
bauusa.com/sunflower-action.html
Online product information

Annual Conference

CCEJ’s unique annual conference, Community-Based Solutions for Environmental Health & Justice, an inspiring event that attracted hundreds of people to learn about EJ issues and solutions and build the Northwest EJ movement, was held from 2003 through 2007. We hope to hold another one when funding permits.

For more information, contact CCEJ at justice@ccej.org.

Outreach & Education

CCEJ staff and board reach over 2,000 people a year with EJ 101 workshops, Seattle environmental justice tours and community outreach so we can raise the voices of low-income communities and communities of color and reach allies who can support our work.

For more information or to request CCEJ to speak at an event or do an EJ tour, please fill out the speaking/tour request form and email to the board of directors at ccejboard@gmail.com.

Community Resources

If you are a community member with an environmental justice concern in your neighborhood, we encourage you to visit our resource library. You can research reports, files and news articles on EJ issues and make photocopies. Unfortunately we don’t have staff capacity to do research for you. Please contact the office before you visit the office to confirm that we’re open.
Thank you!

Also see CCEJ Victories

The mission of the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice (CCEJ)
is to achieve environmental and economic justice in low income communities and communities of color.