One way or another, everyone on Bainbridge interacts with Bainbridge Disposal. This company is the exclusive waste hauler for the island, as well as the provider of our residential curbside recycling and yard waste collection and the owner of the island's transfer station. We are therefore very fortunate to have Heather Church come speak to us.

We have asked Heather to briefly touch on the evolution of Bainbridge Disposal, from its origins back when there was a dump on the island to its current myriad services. We also will be discussing collaborative education outreach opportunities. You will have the chance to ask questions, too. The first hour will be dedicated to Heather and the last 30 minutes to the regular ZW meeting.

If you have taken down your live-cut Christmas tree or have broken, unfixable lightstrings, keep them out of the landfill by taking advantage of services provided by a local organization and business.

Here are some highlights from our abbreviated year of Zero Waste activities. See this page for a full list of 2020 accomplishments.

January: Safeway's Access Recovery (Recycling) Center supervisor, Jay Hildebrand, spoke at our ZW meeting, resulting in his unexpected yet enthusiastically accepted proposal to provide a semi-trailer for our Styro collection material.

January-March: The ZW Lending Library provided reusable tableware to 18 events, ranging in size from 30-500 attendees.

May-June: Sustainable Bainbridge transitioned to a new website, courtesy of Interlock Solutions. Now Zero Waste has a more accessible and visually appealing way to keep you informed.

Late summer: New signs by Zero Waste member Jane Martin on the downtown Bigbellies led to a drastic reduction in contamination. (Bottles and cans only. No cups!) Pre- and post-waste audits convinced Bainbridge Disposal to resume actually recycling the recyclables after having had to trash the spoiled mix for many years.

August: Although the annual Trashion Show was canceled in April, some entrants were still able to display their creative fashions to passersby in the Bainbridge Arts and Crafts window.

September: Neither smoke nor pandemic prevented our

rescheduled collection of Styrofoam and CDs at Bay Hay and Feed. Over fifty volunteers helped to bag Styro, that filled three Safeway semis!

On January 18, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Bainbridge Parks Department is encouraging everyone to walk our parks and trails while picking up trash. At the end of the excursion, simply leave your bags at the trailhead or park entrance, and it will be collected by park staff.

As we have throughout the pandemic, BI Zero Waste is lending out grabber(s), so if you'd like to borrow one or more, just email us and we will make arrangements for you to get them.

Members of the Climate Change Advisory Committee (CCAC) will host two live online presentations on the Climate Action Plan (CAP) to help the City and community begin implementation of the plan.

Help researchers at the University of Algarve (Faro, Portugal) by taking this survey to assess people's perception of plastic pollution and how it may have changed with the COVID-19 pandemic. Say the researchers, "The more data we get from all over the world, the more [it] could help to find solutions to tackle plastic pollution."

Take if you're 18 or older in English or in Spanish.

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