October 14, 2020
Renewable energy will keep us from putting more carbon into the atmosphere; regenerative agriculture will take that climate-changing greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere and reverse the global warming trend. Watch the new documentary, Kiss the Ground, on Netflix to find out how such a transformation is possible.

The first quarter of the film presents the current depressing reality, but the remainder shows the impactful and hopeful changes that can happen in our soil, on our farms and throughout the world by thoughtfully implementing non-disruptful processes that nourish the earth's microbes.

Note 1: There is a small section on food scrap composting, hence this review in the ZW newsletter. :)
Note 2: How many actors will you recognize (including in the closing credits)?
Note 3: The director's first documentary, Fuel, was also the first -- and most popular -- film in Sustainable Bainbridge's Matinees That Matter series 12 years ago.
In the last newsletter, I linked to a Planet Money broadcast on the origins and state of our current plastic recycling system. Subsequently Eco-Cycle, a recycling/compost/reuse nonprofit in Boulder, CO, posted in their newsletter an extensive response to the piece. Here it is in part:

As the NPR story rightly highlights, recycling alone is not going to solve our plastics pollution problem. The solution lies in the recognition that we don’t have a plastics recycling problem, we have a plastics production problem.

[W]e as a non-profit, mission-based recycler thank NPR for pulling back the curtain on Big Oil’s misleading of the public.
Plastics recycling in its current form is neither sustainable nor adequate, yet the plastics industry is currently on a trajectory to triple their production by 2050. As they execute on this plan, they are doing precious little to create recycling markets - as aluminum, steel, paper and glass industries do - by using recycled plastics to make new plastic products.

Many media stories have wrongly blamed recyclers for the lack of plastics recycling. This NPR story puts the blame fully where it belongs: with the petrochemical companies that are trying to use recycling to placate the public into thinking their products are fully “recyclable” in an effort to justify their increased use of fossil fuels. 

[W]hile there are significant challenges with recycling plastic, plastics are only a small fraction of the overall material we recycle and should not cause us to abandon all recycling.

Recycling remains one of the fastest, most cost-effective local solutions to reduce climate emissions. It is also critical to our national economy, as we have seen during this pandemic. Your newspaper is needed to produce toilet paper, your glass bottles can become medical vials, your recycled aluminum and steel are critical feedstock for new products. Recycling is an essential part of our manufacturing economy - we need to do more of it and we need to continue to invest in recycling programs for many materials aside from just plastics.
How to Boost Recycling
In 2019 the Washington state legislature passed a bill establishing a Recycling Development Center. Based within the Department of Ecology, its purpose is to develop and incentivize markets for recycled commodities. (After all, recycling only works if there are buyers for the recycled material.)

DOE commissioned a study to propose solutions to the problem of plastic packaging waste. The main recommendations were to implement Extended Producer Responsibility for all consumer packaging and paper, create a deposit system for all beverage containers (such as Oregon and California's bottle bill programs) and set recycled-content requirements for all plastic packaging.

EPR is the concept of brand owners and manufacturers taking environmental responsibility for their products and the associated packaging when they become waste, such as Washington's E-cycle program, that ensures our discarded electronics are properly reused and recycled. Join the tour below to find out how our neighbor to the north manages its post-consumer paper and plastic packaging.
Virtual Tour

Recycle BC Packaging and Paper Product Extended Producer Responsibility Program


Tuesday, October 27, 10am-1pm
Click this link to Zero Waste Washington's newsletter and scroll down for more details and how to register.
The program will include brief remarks by State Senator (and BI resident) Christine Rolfes.
Food Storage Container Recycling
Rubbermaid is partnering with TerraCycle to take back well-used food storage containers for recycling.*

If that top or bottom is missing, the glass has chipped, or the plastic is too worn out, bring those plastic and glass food storage containers -- any brand -- to the collection bin located outside the Marge Williams Center, 221 Winslow Way West.
*Do not place any single-use plastic containers in the bin.

If you have questions, please email Susan Knell.
Beauty Product Container Recycling
Nordstrom is partnering with Terracycle to take back any kind of beauty care packaging that can’t go into your regular curbside bin. Everything from pump caps and hair spray triggers to makeup such as lipstick cases, eyeliner pencils, and mascara tubes can be dropped off in a BEAUTYCYCLE bin in Nordstrom's beauty department.

All brands of beauty product packaging are accepted.
You do not need to clean the products and packaging before dropping off. However, please remove as much of the remaining product as possible and make sure your items are dry before drop-off.
And the Winners Are...
This year the Bainbridge Island Beach Cleanup committee gave out orca adoption certificates for the wackiest beach find and the most artistic expression of beach litter.
Wackiest Find
Styrofoam die
Found by Siri Kushner
Most Creative Expression
Surfboard found by Alison Hatletveit
Animated shark and fish skeleton swimming to the tune of "Baby Shark"
To help out the Northwest's iconic orcas, join the month-long Orca Recovery Day EcoChallenge. One of the many suggested activities is picking up litter. If you would like to borrow a grabber for this endeavor, please email Diane Landry.
Newsletter editor: Diane Landry, BI Zero Waste (Volunteer) Director
Back issues are available here.
BI Zero Waste is an all-volunteer program of Sustainable Bainbridge.
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