Although Compost Awareness Week has officially passed, it's always good to be thinking about putting any and all food waste into a home, curbside or transfer station compost/yard waste container. Keeping food out of the landfill (where our trash ends up) is one of the most effective individual actions we can take to reduce methane greenhouse gas emissions.

Did you know that Bainbridge Disposal is now offering a 32-yard cart (above right) for those not generating enough food/yard waste to fill a 96-gallon version (on left)? The smaller size is cheaper per month and also easier to transport to the street in a big vehicle if you live far from a curbside pick-up point.

Plus, Bainbridge Disposal will give you a free countertop bucket when you sign up! (The city's kitchen pail program that we previously advertised has reached maximum capacity.)

Zero Waste will be attempting a phase-out of the Farmers Market Green Team, now that the city has placed a permanent compost container and recycling Bigbelly on separate sides at the west end of town square. In previous years on Saturday mornings, the market manager would set up co-located recycling and compost containers at both ends of the market and the Green Team would monitor for contamination, then dismantle at the end of the day.

Since there are now three permanent bin options for discards, we will be observing human behavior to see how many people, encouraged by the directive signage below left, actually make the short journey from the east end trash can to the compost and recycle bins on the west end to keep appropriate items out of the garbage.

Directive signage on east end trash can

West end recycle Bigbelly

West end

 compost bin

Normally there is a hazardous household waste collection on Bainbridge every other year organized by Kitsap County Public Works, and 2024 would have been that year. But since the North Kitsap Service Center, a new facility for household hazardous waste collection, is set to open in early spring of 2025, the county has decided not to run the costly collection event this year.

Until then, either hold onto your hazmat or take it to the county facility on select days at 5551 SW Imperial Way in Bremerton. Labels marked danger, caution, flammable, warning, toxic, poison or combustible are a good sign that your product is a hazardous household item. Find details here.

Did you know that Bainbridge banned the use of expanded polystyrene as food service ware way back in 1989? The rest of the state is now catching up and has banned the sales and distribution of the following foam items starting on June 1:

• foam containers
• plates
• bowls
• clamshells
• trays
• cups
• portable coolers (but not for medication or certain types of food)

Packing peanuts were already banned in 2023. For details on the bill and its exceptions, go here.

Every year two events occur on Bainbridge that bring thousands of people to the island: the Fourth of July celebration and the Rotary Auction.

July 4th

Zero Waste runs waste management for the Grand Old Fourth. Our ten discard stations are staffed by ZW ambassadors (you!), who help folks toss correctly into the recycling, compost and landfill containers. No experience is necessary.

We need over 40 volunteers on July 4th so that each station always has a guide on hand.Sign up here or click the button below. Ignore that the Doodle says "Vote"; the shift(s) you select is the one you will stay for.

Shifts are two hours, with set-up starting at 6:45am and clean-up at 4:45pm. Read the descriptions in the Doodle about what to expect on each shift.

Rotary Auction

How to prep a six-hour sale that makes over $800,000 for community organizations? Round up 2000 volunteers who work like gangbusters in the week leading up to the sale!

As donations come in starting Saturday, June 29, the role of the Rotary Green Team (not a Zero Waste-run group but comprised of many of you readers) is to divert packaging and items that are not saleable to their highest possible use.

Before the Green Team existed, during donation drop-off, seven 50-yard dumpsters hauled away packaging, volunteer meal discards and items departments couldn't use. The Green Team now has that number down to two.

Please come and help out in one or more of these GT areas: Recycling, Lawn of Opportunity, Desk, Cardboard, Food. (Perk: After a certain number of volunteer hours, you can buy before sale day!)

If you have questions, come to the Volunteer Open House on Tuesday, June 4, 6-7pm, at Woodward Middle School for nibbles and to talk to volunteer veterans.

Go here to first sign up to be a volunteer, then proceed to create a Volgistics login so you can sign up for Green Team shifts (June 29-July 3, plus July 5&6). It is an experience you will never forget!

Thank you to all those who participated in April's Islandwide Earth Month litter cleanup, which included:

• Individual adults
• Families
• A Girl Scout troop
• Woodward Middle School students earning service hours

And thank you to the Adopt-a-Spotters and anyone else who goes out and cleans up our roadsides and beaches.

You can borrow a grabber anytime by emailing bizerowaste@sustainablebainbridge.org.

Here's what you'll find in the most recent Zero Waste Washington newsletter:

• Recap of the 2024 WA waste legislation passed (includes new cannabis waste and lead in cookware laws)
• Recycling at fire camps (and a talk you can Zoom into)
• Plastics in farming (and recommend a farmer for an interview)
• Furniture Bank stories (They will be one of the recipients of furniture left over from the Bainbridge Rotary Rummage Sale.)

This national webinar focuses on plastics recycling. Even if it can be recycled, should it be recycled? How can we get single-use plastic out of our lives? Why should we? Register here for the Plastic Pollution Coalition's thought-provoking presentation on Wednesday, June 5, 2-3pm.

Over 1000 households on Bainbridge subscribe to the specialized doorstep recycling service, Ridwell. If you haven't taken their plastics quiz yet, give it a go. They have a transparency page on their website explaining where all the materials go that they accept.

Bookmark Zero Waste's "Guide to Reusing and/or Recycling Locally" so you can find where to reuse or recycle something you no longer want. (Kitsap Solid Waste has a similar page entitled, "What Do I Do with It?")

A recent addition to the guide came about when someone wrote in to ask where hearing aids can go. Turns out that, in addition to collecting eyeglasses to refurbish and give to those in need, the Lions Club also takes hearing aids. The island's drop-off point is Ace Hardware.

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.