Mochi Tsuki, the annual Bainbridge Island festival celebrating Japanese heritage, will be held at Woodward Middle School this Saturday, January 11, 11am-3pm. Hundreds of residents and off-island visitors learn about Japanese culture and history and hear the famous Taiko drummers.

Help Zero Waste support this meaningful event by signing up for a one-hour discard station slot...and stay for the fun!

After clicking the button below,

scroll down to the "Green Team" section.

Sustainable Bainbridge is partnering with Kitsap Solid Waste and BARN to hold BI's first public all-purpose fix-it fair on Saturday, March 1, 11am-2pm, at the BARN, 8890 Three Tree Lane.

The Fix-it Fair is a free community event that connects skilled volunteer fixers with residents seeking to repair household items. Go here for all the details.

Are you interested in helping as a fixer or volunteer for the event? Then click the button below.

The Furniture Repair Bank in Seattle's SODO neighborhood is a year-round nonprofit endeavor that accepts unwanted furniture, then refurbishes it for low-income and immigrant families.

No skills are necessary if you want to help repair furniture as a team-building activity or volunteer on an individual basis. Simply go to the volunteer section of their website and fill out the interest form.

Individual behavioral change is all well and good, but legislative change has wider impact. There are 13 waste-related bills scheduled for the 2025 Washington state legislative session, that runs January 13-April 27.

Zero Waste Washington, headed up by executive director Heather Trim, is the organization to connect with if you want to stay informed about the bills that have been introduced. Go here for descriptions and to keep up to date on their status. Fill out this form if you want to be notified when it is just the right time to vote PRO or CON on a particular bill.

If you missed the winter edition of the Zero Waste Washington newsletter, click here.

The return of our now bimonthly Zero Waste meeting was a big success, with over 20 attending. The next meeting will be Thursday, February 6, 5-6:30, in the Marge Williams Center (with a Zoom option).

Beau Myers, of reusable dishware company rWorld, will be speaking about the pilot cup return program currently in place on the BI-Seattle ferry run.

The agenda is as follows:

5-5:30 Zero Waste business

5:30-6 Speaker

6-6:30 Member questions and sharing

The Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) commissioned a statewide litter study in 2022, the first of its kind in 20 years. It found that 37.8 million tons of litter is strewn about annually, or 897 pieces per person per year, primarily on roadways and off-ramps.

We can't personally tackle the highway mess (see DOE chart above), but we can do something about the rest of the roads on the island.

The City has taken over the Adopt-a-Spot litter collection program that was previously administered by the County for our island. The program remains similar: As a volunteer individual, household, business or organization, you may sign up to adopt a stretch of road or public place and agree to pick up litter a few times a year.

If you haven't done this before, it is surprising to realize how much litter is next to our roads - often the vegetation is obscuring what is a sizeable amount of waste. See the example to the left of litter that was picked up just a few hundred feet off of Sands Avenue recently. 

Your help is needed to keep our island healthy for people and wildlife. Find out more and sign up via the City's Adopt-a-Spot Program webpage.

How earth-friendly is your toilet paper? Luckily, there are plenty of competitively priced varieties with minimal impact on forests. Check out the National Resources Defense Council's ratings to see where your brand scores. Maybe 2025 is time for a new purchasing resolution.

If you have empty tubes, you can put them in the box in Blakely Elementary's school office, 4704 Blakely Avenue NE. The STEM class always has a use for them.

Another paper tip

Use paper tape instead of plastic tape to enclose cardboard boxes. The paper tape gets recycled along with the boxes. Need convincing? Read this.

The recycling bin for small scrap metal is located in the Senior/Community Center lobby. Project coordinator Barbara Ochota thanks you for your contributions.

The last day to recycle lightstrings is Monday, January 20, at Bainbridge 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. If you have an addition for it or see a correction needed, please contact me.