What can the volunteer fixers do their best to repair?

• clothing/textiles
• lamps
• jewelry
• small appliances
• bikes (minor repairs)
• small welding jobs
• vacuums
• small electronics

For more info about this Saturday, go here. For information about the fix-it fairs in general, go here.

Sign up for this Saturday's BI Beach Cleanup, then participate in an artcycling event and have some pizza!

After cleanup hours, head on down to Peter Sprung's art studio at 8895 Three Tree Lane, unit #8, from 1-3pm to work on a joint or individual beach sculpture. (Directions: Go up toward BARN, then turn left, go to the end, and turn left again to the last unit on the right). You are encouraged to bring what you collected, but Peter will have beach trash on hand, also.

Peter is a sculptor who uses beach-found creosote remnants and plastics to call attention to the pollutants on our shoreline.

The ReUse Depot is a new brainchild of Naomi Spinak, Rachel Knudson, and Gilian Engelson. Fiscally sponsored by Sustainable Bainbridge, it will be a community-centered consortium of reuse-recycle-repair programs offering a reMaker space, material exchanges, resource and recycling initiatives, a library of things (think tools, kitchenware, toys, household goods), and repair-reuse workshops, all under one roof.

It’s a big project that requires a lot of space and hands to get it up and running. They’ll need brainpower, grant-writing, graphics, and fundraising help. Come learn more at the Zero Waste booth at the farmer’s market on October 4 (from 10-11:30 am), at the Sustainable Bainbridge table at T&C’s Harvest Moon Celebration on October 5 (from 2-4 pm), or send Naomi a message.

Below is the official recycling poster from Bainbridge Disposal/Kitsap County. If you don't have a copy, you can print it here.

Recently, Zero Waste created a supplemental poster, pictured below, that highlights alternative destinations for some of the items in the "Garbage" category. You can print it out here.

Dog poop bags, whether compostable or not, belong in the trash. If poop piles are a problem in your neighborhood, you can apply for a Mutt Mitt station. Here are the details:

The Mutt Mitt program is a partnership between the City of Bainbridge Island and Kitsap County. COBI will pay for and install a Mutt Mitt station on private property that will be accessible to the public. Station hosts are expected to pay for and stock pet waste bags for the station.

Here are links to find out about the program and to apply for a station. A County employee will respond to your application.

• Mutt Mitt program info
• Mutt Mitt program sign-up

Speaking of bags, Washington state's plastic bag ban has been in effect now for four years now. Plastic bags do still show up -- for example, in online grocery pick-ups -- but they are 2.25ml or thicker, as required by state law.

Starting on January 1, 2026, a scheduled fee increase on those bags will take place, going from 8¢ to 12¢. Retailers will continue to keep the mandatory charge, which must show up on the sales receipt.

Plastic bags that are 4ml or greater will have an additional 4¢ tacked onto the new 12¢ fee in order to discourage distribution of these thicker bags. This extra amount will go into a state fund for waste reduction, recycling and litter control.

Join us at our next Zero Waste meeting!

When: September 30, 5-6:30

Where: Marge Williams Center

Zoom option (but much more fun and practical in person)

Here's the agenda:

• Ask questions: Can I recycle this? (Show us what you've got)
• Bring examples of items that help you prevent waste through reduction, reuse or repurposing
• Find out what ZW is doing and how you can take part
• Listen to a short presentation by founders of BI Flashdrive (collecting camping equipment on Sept. 27 -- go here to find out how to participate)

Zero Waste LOVES hearing from you, whether it's through a conversation out in the community, email, or our general meetings. The questions and comments inspire articles in the newsletter (e.g., the Mutt Mitt piece and the garbage destination poster) and sometimes lead to finding out new or updated information, which then allows the website to be kept current. What follows is an example of your input making a difference...

A reader wrote in to say her boss had seen the Winslow Way Bigbelly recycling being dumped in the garbage truck. We contacted Bainbridge Disposal and learned that the driver thought the contents were too contaminated to put in the recycling truck. Zero Waste proposed doing an audit of all the downtown recycling Bigbellies to see what the level of contamination really was.

Zero Waste is no stranger to audits, as we have performed them before on the Winslow recycling Bigbellies and compost bins, as well as at Tilz and with Kitsap County Solid Waste. So Bainbridge Disposal brought us a weekend's worth of bags from the six downtown Bigbellies in late August. We separated recyclables from contaminants (see photo above from the Bigbelly in front of Hitchcock) and weighed both. We found that contamination averaged 14%, which is a tolerable percentage to send to the materials recovery facility in Tacoma, where they sort and bale the recyclable commodities for sale to manufacturers.

Kudos to Bainbridge Disposal for allowing the audit and resuming recycling the recyclables! Can you guess what the most common contaminant was? The answer is at the end of the newsletter.

Mark your calendar and start setting aside good quality clothing for the next clothing swap. Also, note in the poster above what you should NOT bring. New category alert: shoes -- gently used, of course!

KiDiMu will once again be running their annual children's costume swap. Drop-off will start on October 2 and be available anytime the lobby is open. Then 1-2 weeks before Hallowe'en, the public will be allowed to come in on specific days (we will advertise them next month when they are set) and choose a new-to-your-child outfit for the holiday!

Speaking of Hallowe'en, Beyond Plastics is offering tips for plastic-free ways to celebrate. Go here for advice on decorations, costumes and treats.

"From Shred to Fed" - Bring your sensitive or outdated documents for safe destruction and recycling to the Bainbridge branch of Kitsap Bank on September 27, 9am-noon. There is a maximum of 75# per vehicle. Donations (cash or check) go to Helpline House.

Remember that shredded paper cannot go in curbside recycling. It would get mixed in with other types of recyclables and be impossible to separate upon arrival at the sorting facility. But shred events involve solely paper, which means the shred can be easily baled and sent directly to a pulping mill to be made into new paper.

If you can't make the above date, check here for other "From Shred to Fed" Kitsap Bank locations and Sept/Oct dates.

ZWW's fall newsletter is out.

Read about what's in store for next January's legislative session, the pilot projects that helped farmers use less plastic, and more.

Sept 20 - BI Beach Cleanup, Saturday, 9-noon @ all over

Sept 20 - Fix-it Fair, Saturday, 10am-1pm @ BARN

Sept 27 - SB Partner: Shred event, Saturday, 9am-noon 
 @Kitsap Bank

Sept 27 - Metal sorting, 11am-noon @ BI Senior & 
 Community Center

Sept 27 - SB Partner: Flashdrive pick-up

Sept 30 - Zero Waste public meeting, Tuesday, 5-6:30 @
 Marge Williams Center

Oct 2 - SB Partner: KiDiMu costume drop-off begins
Oct 4 - Zero Waste @ Farmers' Market, 10am-2pm
 (ReUse Depot, 10-11:30am)
Oct 5 - Sustainable Bainbridge tabling at Harvest Moon
 Celebration, 12-4pm @ T&C (ReUse Depot, 2-4pm)

Oct 11 - Metal sorting, 11am-noon @ BI Senior & 
 Community Center

Most common contaminant in the Bigbelly recycling audit: plastic and paper cups

Whenever you are looking for a destination for something not accepted in your curbside bin, be sure to visit the

 "Guide to Reusing and/or Recycing Locally" on our website. If you have an addition for it or see a correction needed, please contact me.