Since its founding in 2000, Beyond Toxics has been at the forefront of advocacy on environmental justice issues in Eugene and beyond.
Beyond Toxics was a major force in advocating for the longtime polluting J.H. Baxter site to become an EPA Superfund site, making it a high priority for remediation.
Beyond Toxics passed leadership to Lisa Arkin in 2005 when she became the executive director. During her time as director, Arkin led Beyond Toxics to a number of victories that ultimately led to serious environmental reform.
One of these accomplishments was the passage of Senate Bill 637 in 2009, which completely stopped the use of dangerous pesticides on Oregon school properties. The organization also worked hard to advocate for the cessation of aerial pesticide sprays. “We were the organization that really brought the problem of aerial herbicide spray in our forests and our publicly owned lands to the forefront, and that truly is a statewide problem,” Arkin says.
Beyond Toxics was also a major advocate in ending grass seed field burning in the state that was causing respiratory problems, and even deaths, for Oregonians.
Most recently, Beyond Toxics pushed for the passage of SB 726, which closed loopholes at landfills that let landfills inadequately monitor the emission of methane gas on site. The bill improved the reporting of methane emissions to the Department of Environmental Quality.
Beyond Toxics also helped pass House Bill 2684 in June, which expanded protections put in place by SB 637, replacing harmful pesticides with nonchemical, low-impact alternatives. The bill requires pesticides used on school sites to be reviewed every five years and be made publicly available.
After 20 years, Arkin has passed the torch to Jennifer Davis. Davis moved to Oregon in 2021 and joined Beyond Toxics in 2023. She says as a kid, she saw the destruction we are causing to the environment and thought, “we don’t really understand or know what we’re losing.”
She later received a master’s degree in ecology from James Cook University in Australia. “I was really driven by my passion for wildlife and the environment,” Davis says. “Early on I recognized that the modern world was really negatively impacting the environment and human health. A lot of our consumptive practices were just not sustainable.”
Davis hopes to continue Beyond Toxics’ legacy of advocating for the environment while also approaching environmental issues with less traditional methods by focusing on actions that address systemic inequalities. “I know we can do things better,” she says. “The communities who are being disproportionately impacted by environmental issues deserve to have their voices amplified to help develop meaningful solutions.”
Davis wants to expand Beyond Toxics’ reach while also focusing on the local community, like west Eugene, which has long been impacted by pollution from nearby industry and has been fighting the construction of a fuel transfer station in the Trainsong neighborhood since January.
In addition to the leadership change, Beyond Toxics made the move to unionize with Communications Workers of America Local 7901 in July. The union, Resilient Organizers Opposing Toxics (ROOTS), sent an official letter to the Beyond Toxics board of directors May 1 stating its intent to unionize. The board of directors unanimously voted to recognize the union. “I’m really excited about working with the union, making sure the staff is at the table to be heard and feel valued,” Davis says.
Davis says as the new executive director, she wants to lead Beyond Toxics into more victories and ensure that Oregonians can live free from harmful environmental pollutants that decrease their quality of life. “We know we can do better. Let’s get there,” she says.
Beyond Toxics is at 120 Shelton McMurphey Boulevard. Call 541-465-8860 or visit BeyondToxics.org to learn more.