Full Breakdown
State Investigation of We Heart Seattle’s Needle-Cleanup Practices
8/20/2026, 9:22:21 PM
Investigation Launched Over Cleanup Procedures
Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) opened a workplace-safety inspection of the nonprofit We Heart Seattle after a third-party referral alleged that volunteers were improperly handling hypodermic needles and fentanyl-related paraphernalia during street cleanups. Inspectors may issue violations if safety requirements are not met, and the review could last up to six months before results are made public. [[July 16]] and [[July 22]] marked opening conferences with We Heart Seattle and a related temporary-staffing agency.
Background & Context
Andrea Suarez founded We Heart Seattle in 2020 to remove discarded drug supplies from parks, sidewalks and homeless encampments. The group reports more than 50,000 volunteer hours and roughly 2.2 million pounds of trash collected, including “hundreds of thousands” of needles and paraphernalia. The organization receives no taxpayer funding and frames its work as a public-health safeguard amid Seattle’s broader harm-reduction programs.
Data & Statistics
- Trash collected: ~2.2 million lb since 2020.
- Volunteer hours: >50,000.
- Needles and paraphernalia: hundreds of thousands.
- King County overdose trend: 32 % decline between 2023 and 2025.
Official Statements & Responses
- King County spokesperson Sharon Bogan defended the county’s harm-reduction approach, noting the 32 % decline in overdose deaths.
- Seattle city officials have not responded to requests for comment.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
L&I has asked for We Heart Seattle’s written safety program, blood-borne pathogen training records, hepatitis B vaccination documentation, and safety-meeting logs. Suarez acknowledges the nonprofit has not provided hepatitis vaccinations to volunteers and may lack some employee-disciplinary policies, arguing that such requirements do not apply to volunteers. The referral’s source remains undisclosed, and no violation has been established at this stage.
Verbatim Quotes
- “One of the biggest advocacy work I have done is that I go to the needle exchange and I get what they call the 'party kit,' and I demonstrated that our King County 'Health' Department is handing out cookers and tourniquets and glass pipes and paraphernalia to do drugs,” — Andrea Suarez
- “I just think it’s a political hit from somebody,” — Andrea Suarez
What’s Next
L&I’s inspection may continue for several months, after which a public report will detail any findings and potential penalties. Suarez says the nonprofit will keep cleaning streets while using the probe to push for broader policy accountability.
