Our first (since 2019!) general Zero Waste meeting will be on Thursday, December 5, 5-6:30, at the Marge Williams Center, 221 Winslow Way West. Zoom will also be available.

5-6pm: Program updates, ways to volunteer, brainstorming new initiatives that reduce waste

6-6:30pm: Show & Ask or Tell

1) Either ask recycling questions about specific items/materials and/or 2) Present items that have brought waste reduction into your life (e.g., shampoo bar)

Check out the Zero Waste Holiday Guide page with how-to links and tips for

• giving waste-free gifts
• celebrating with less waste
• recycling gift packaging, your tree and lightstrings

If you want to give a tangible gift rather than an experience, membership, subscription, or charity donation, try these ideas and places for secondhand goods:

Free

• Set up a swap of a certain type of gently used item, such as of clothing, accessories, games, books, kitchen gadgets, etc.
• Free sheds - One on Wallace Way, one on New Sweden
• Check out online free sites: Facebook - Buy Nothing (also an app), Free on the Rock, Free on Bainbridge and Freely Given Bainbridge; Craigslist
• BI Senior/Community Center - puzzles and books room

Buy

• Online sites: Facebook - Bainbridge Island Buy and Sell and Bainbridge Island Yard Sale
• BI Public Library Friends of the Library - books
• Backstreet Beat - books and vinyl records
• Little Island Crafts - secondhand crafts section
• It's New to You - furniture consignment
• Nova Vita - clothing consignment
• BI Senior/Community Center Thrift Store - eclectic
• Bargain Boutique - eclectic
• Zutto Vintage & Antiques - eclectic
• Rabbit Hole - eclectic
• Pastiche Antiques - eclectic

Scout Troops 1564 and 1804 continue their longtime community service fundraiser of holiday tree recycling for island residents. Trees must be bare. The scouts will pick up outside your house if you register here by January 3 and put out by 8am on January 4. Local composter Tilz will mulch them.

Limited Time Offer!



If you still have campaign (or any other plastic corrugated sign – no foam core) signs to get rid of, Ridwell is accepting up to three when they pick up on the island on Thursday, December 12.

Even if you are not a member, you may sign up to have them make a one-time stop at your house for up to three signs. 

You may also drop off your signs until December 10 behind the Zero Waste bin at the Marge Williams Center, 221 Winslow Way West (but not after that date – we will have no way of recycling them). Please email Susan Knell before dropping off any signs. She is coordinating the drop off and pick up of signs in order to get them to Ridwell subscribers.

If there’s a metal stake with the sign, please remove the stake and also leave at the Zero Waste bin. It will be reused. If there is a wooden stake attached, please remove and keep for yourself.

Staples in Silverdale, 2850 NW Bucklin Hill Rd, has always taken back electronics for recycling. Now they also accept the following broken or worn out school supplies:

• Backpacks & lunch bags (as well as other bags and luggage)
• Binders & zipper binders 
• Crayons & colored pencils 
• Glue sticks & bottles (empty) 
• Pencils & pencil pouches 
• Pens, markers & highlighters 
• Rulers & drafting tools

For a complete list of what they recycle, go here.

Olmstead Nursery in Poulsbo, 19700 Viking Av NW, will take any size, color and type of plant pot for reuse or recycling.

Sakai Intermediate School (grades 5&6) is asking for the following used items in good condition for their recess activities:

• Maker Space is in need of some sewing needles, crochet hooks, and knitting needles.
• Outdoor recess would appreciate soccer balls, tennis balls, frisbees, or 4-square balls (i.e., kickballs)

Please drop off at the front office, 9343 Sportsman Club Rd NE.

The popularity of the ReFashion Bainbridge clothing swap continues to grow. On a Saturday in November, 100 people dropped off good quality clothing, a team of volunteers sorted the clothes into adult women, men and children's categories, and over 220 happy shoppers showed up the next day to take away as much as they wanted. This time around, donations even covered the cost of the facility rental. And 17 minor clothing repairs were made on the spot by volunteer menders. Start setting aside your spring/summer wardrobe giveaways for the next event in March 2025.

Perhaps you have read or heard that food-grade plastic and heat are not a good combination when it comes to chemical and microplastic migration into food (and subsequently our bodies). This 30-minute conversational podcast episode from The Atlantic makes the information go down easily as it covers everything kitchen plastic, from black utensils to non-stick cookware to leftover containers.

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.