All the events in this newsletter -- and many more -- are listed on Sustainable Bainbridge's Earth Month page. Plus, it's not too late to pick an activity a day from the Earth Action calendar. Bainbridge Community Broadcasting host Bob Ross recently spoke with Barb Trafton, Diane Landry, and Morgan Houk, three of the many EM event organizers, on what's in store for April. Listen in and then go out and do something special for the Earth!

Step into Bainbridge Arts and Crafts anytime this month for an exhibition of wearable clothing and accessories made entirely from repurposed materials. The local and regional artists -- Janelle Abbott, Heather Griffin, Bella Kim (tunic pictured above), Betty Laughlin, Rebecca Morse, Sara Owens, Shira Pinker, Susan Skalak, Naomi Spinak, Paige St-Pierre, Olivia Vessenes, and Ann Willis -- are also offering these pieces for sale.

Find out more about Naomi Spinak, creator of this exhibition, the recent Environmental Conference on textiles, and ReFashion Bainbridge, in this interview with BAC's executive director, Debra Ruzinsky. Their conversation ranges from Naomi's background in textiles to her passion for rethinking how we acquire clothing.

Please help spread the word to potential entrants for the sixth annual ReFashion Trashion Show. The deadline for designs is May 1. Take note that we have retired the recyclables submission category and are emphasizing wearability with all repurposed outfits.

Found out more about the new category, Theatrical Stage-wear, on the ReFashion Trashion Show home page. One opportunity in this category is to partner with a Wilkes student to make their artwork come to life! The students studied the Soundsuits of Nick Cave and created drawings based on his work. If you find this intriguing, please write to show director Naomi Spinak for more information.

We are looking for certain items for the mystery boxes. Email Naomi by April 20 if you have any of the following to contribute:

The Farmers Market season opens this Saturday. Stop by our Zero Waste booth between 10am-2pm and every second Saturday from now through September. Each month will feature a new theme. We're starting off with promoting Earth Month and the myriad activities being offered from various island organizations. If you have a suggestion for a booth theme, please contact Barbara Ochota.

After a two-year hiatus, the compost containers will be back at the market, and the FM green team (ZW volunteers) will be there to make sure that what goes in compost is truly compostable. If you would like to join the team, with enough people the commitment is one Saturday or less per month for a couple of hours. No experience is necessary. Please contact Diane Landry if you are interested in joining.

Help clear the island of invasives by starting at home. Invasive plant targets are Scotch broom, English holly, English ivy, Himalayan blackberry, tansy ragwort, English laurel, and the noxious weeds on King County’s “Noxious Weed” list. When availing yourself of this free disposal service provided by the Bainbridge Island Land Trust on April 17 and 24 at the Bainbridge Disposal Transfer Station, please do not mix in non-invasive yard waste with your invasives.

Shredded paper should never go in curbside recycling or with transfer station mixed recyclables.

Instead, if you have tax forms or other personal information to be shredded, bring it to the Kiwanis' Shredfest on April 23, 9am-4pm, at Columbia Bank on High School Rd. Donations are appreciated.

Carry your materials in bags or boxes you don't want returned. The paper will be sent to a secure shredding facility, then the shredded product will be hauled to a paper mill for recycling. More event information can be found here.

When shredding at home, follow these disposal guidelines:

Tune in here on Friday, April 22, at 11:30am for the Senior Center's Something to Talk About's Earth Day edition. Ann Lovejoy covers home composting, family-friendly planting projects, and backyard wildfire safety. Barbara Ochota and Diane Landry of Zero Waste explain current recycling rules, what really happens to the stuff we toss, and ways to reduce your waste stream.

You can test your recycling savvy ahead of time by playing the Bainbridge Island Recycling Quiz.

Zero Waste will have a booth at this BI Parks/Parks Foundation event. Bring the kids to play a fun recycling card & grabber game!

If you missed the March 16 Zero Waste meeting, then listen in here to the presentations of Dr. Lyda Harris and Nora Nickum regarding microplastics in Puget Sound and what the Seattle Aquarium is doing about it. Start at minute 12:12 to bypass the ZW reports.

Or, watch Dr. Harris in action in this 6-minute feature from Crosscut and KCTS broadcast on March 31.

For a more in-depth look at how plastics macro and micro have proliferated throughout all aspects of our being (air, water, bodies), watch the Oscar-nominated full-length documentary, The Story of Plastic, for free between April 16-22 by registering here. Then, if you're up for a panel discussion and community conversation about the film, you will receive a Zoom link to join in on Earth Day, April 22, at 7pm, with regional leaders.

From April 18-30, bring in old, expired or damaged car seats to any Target store and get 20% off a new car seat, stroller or select baby gear.

Target’s partner, Waste Management, will recycle materials from the old car seats, including the metal buckles, polypropylene shells and nylon seatbelts. Since 2016, 1.7 million car seats have been kept out of the landfill through this recycling partnership. Find more details here.

Now-April 30 - ReFashion exhibition at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts

Now-May 1 - Call for Artists for ReFashion Trashion Show

April 9 - Zero Waste at the BI Farmers Market, 10am-2pm

April 17 - Invasive weed disposal at Bainbridge Disposal Transfer Station, 10am-4pm

April 18-30 - Car seat take-back at any Target

April 22 - Earth Day compost & recycling talk, 11:30am Zoom

April 23 - Document collection at Columbia Bank for shredding, 208 High School Road, 9am-4pm

April 24 - Earth Day celebration at Rotary Park, 969 Weaver Rd., 10am-1pm

April 24 - Invasive weed disposal at Bainbridge Disposal Transfer Station, 10am-4pm

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