Hollywood has its Oscars, Broadway the Tonys, and now Sustainability has the Reusies. In this the inaugural year of the National Reuse Awards™, Bainbridge Island Zero Waste has received an honorable mention for Most Impactful Community Leadership! Here are a few program highlights that garnered us this recognition:

Were you one of the almost 300 islanders who ventured out on September 19th to clean up our 53 miles of shoreline? If so, thank you for participating in this annual community effort.

At Hawley Cove, two scout troops, 1496 and 1804, under the leadership of Zero Waste Washington and Watershed Council chair Deb Rudnick, conducted a special litter pick-up, called the Escaped Trash Assessment Protocol. See this Parks Foundation article for lots of photos and this Sustainable Bainbridge news post with figures that will become part of a state database to monitor plastic litter.

The BIBC committee held a random drawing of beach trash photos submitted. The winner this year of the adopt-a-whale southern resident orca certificate is the Quick family.

Zero Waste wants to make sure your proper recyclables actually do get recycled, so we worked with Bainbridge Disposal and Kitsap County to create a tag to alert people that recyclables in plastic bags end up in the landfill, not in recyclable bales. Before beginning tagging, we amended our procedure so that Zero Waste volunteers will not lift cart lids; they will only put a reminder tag where the bags are actually sticking out of the cart. Bainbridge Disposal may also use the tags when their collectors see recyclables packed in plastic bags.

Every year the Bainbridge High School sailing team hosts a ski sale of items donated by the community. If you have any of the following to donate, drop them off in the bin outside Bainbridge Island Physical Therapy, 563 Madison Av N., before their sale on November 20, 10am-2pm. For more details, go here.

The always informative Zero Waste Washington newsletter this fall previews the possible slate of 2022 state legislation for waste reduction.

And speaking of laws, the state bag ban began October 1. If you see plastic bags still being used, check the print to see if they are 2.25ml, the minimal thickness for allowable use. Did you know that when you order online from Safeway, you can request that groceries be packed in paper bags instead of the default plastic?

Never dispose of medication down the drain or toilet. Drugs in the Sound may negatively impact fish. National Drug Take-back Day is Saturday, October 23. From 10am-2pm, the Bainbridge Police Department will accept unwanted meds.

However, you can drop your prescription and non-prescription drugs off year-round during open hours at the Rite Aid pharmacy or the police lobby . Please see the Zero Waste reuse/recycle page on medications for details on what can be brought in.

Trashion Show chair Naomi Spinak is offering adult classes at the Scrappy Art Lab this October. No experience is required, and all materials are of the upcycled variety, of course. Choose from three different classes to make a simple, beautiful -- and perhaps irreverent -- craft.

Here are two ways to encourage our elected and appointed officials to support legislation that will reduce waste:

With the goal of reducing food waste 50% by 2030, the Zero Food Waste Act would support state and local governments and Native nations to develop a circular food economy, invest in community health and jobs, and curb greenhouse gas emissions. 

At the moment, there are no Washington congressional sponsors. Ask your representative to become a co-sponsor by signing here.

The U.S. National Park Service is 105 years old! Celebrate and support our wild and wonderful outdoor forests and rivers by signing this new petition to eliminate the sale and distribution of single-use plastic in the national parks. The best way to manage single-use plastic is to stop generating it in the first place.

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