From the Office of Resilience and Climate Action and Solid Waste Divisions | | Litter Free, Mountain to Sound | | |
Last year Pierce County staff cleaned up 634 tons of litter along county roads and spent 23,116 hours responding to roadside litter, costing the county $1.7 million.
Litter impacts roads, water, sidewalks, and bike lanes throughout Pierce County. Learn more about how you can help keep litter off of the road, protect our environment, safely dispose of waste, and volunteer in your community.
| | | Grow Shade. Cool Your Home. Protect Our Waters. | | |
Want to increase canopy cover on your property while improving local water quality without breaking the bank? Pierce Conservation District’s Urban Tree Sale makes it easy to plant trees at a discounted price.
Open now through Nov. 7, Pierce Conservation District is offering a selection of 5 to 7 gallon trees that are over 6 feet tall for just $10 to $30. Every purchase includes a free tree planting workshop, where you will learn about the benefits of trees, get step-by-step planting guidance to help your tree thrive, and receive a watering bucket for deep watering. Add planting a tree to your to-do list today!
| | | StyrofoamTM is a brand name for a building insulation product made by the DuPont company. The white foam product we see used for disposable packaging, plates and cups is expanded polystyrene, or EPS. EPS is about 98% air and has gaps between the foam beads, which is why it is so light and crushes easily. | | |
In Pierce County, clean block expanded polystyrene can once again be dropped off at the Tacoma Recycle Center! Clean block polystyrene, polystyrene coolers, and polystyrene packaging sheets dropped off at the Tacoma Recycle Center are compressed on site and turned into solid blocks, which are then transported up to Styro Recycle in Kent. Please note that packing peanuts, food containers, and dirty foam are not accepted.
Styro Recycle is the only EPS recycler in Western Washington. They offer a free drop-off center open during the work week. Once they have a load of 40,000 pounds of processed, densified polystyrene they sell it to manufacturers to be made into plastic products like picture frames, outlet covers, and crown molding.
| | Do you have a recycling question? Email us at PCRECYCLE@PierceCountyWa.gov. We’ll send you a direct response and your question may appear in a future newsletter! | | Log Your Sustainable Trips for July Prize Drawing | | |
Each month*, Ride Together Pierce's “Rider Rewards” campaign awards one lucky sustainable traveler with $150 for taking 10 sustainable trips (or five roundtrips) and logging those trips on the trip calendar.
Log your sustainable trips by the end of August 7 to enter the July prize drawing.
*Each month except for May, September, and October when Ride Together Pierce runs other prized promotions.
| | | New learning opportunities are headed your way this August as part of the Earth Matters Series. Learn more and register. | | | |
Explore & Restore
Aug. 15, 10 a.m. to Noon
Orangegate Park in Tacoma (Summit-Waller)
| | | |
A Habitat Walk Through Flett Creek
Aug. 1, 10-11:30 a.m.
Flett Creek (by Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood)
| | |
Watch with us:
Do with us:
-
Bring the kids to our Summer Reading Program “Water’s Incredible Journey” at several library locations in August.
-
Visible Mending with Remakery: Aug. 3, 5 – 7 p.m. at Lakewood Library
- Visit our Solid Waste staff at the University Place Farmers Market to get your recycling and food/yard waste collection questions answered! Aug. 6 from 3 – 7 p.m. 5000 67th Ave W. (Our Church lower parking lot)
-
Junk in the Trunk giant garage sale: Aug. 8 & 22, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Tacoma/Parkland
- WSU Master Gardeners
-
Figs. Yes, They Do Grow Here: Aug. 8, 10 – 11 a.m. in Gig Harbor
-
Gardening without Barriers: Aug. 8, 2 – 3:30 p.m. at University Place Library
-
Learning about Soil: Aug. 13, 1 – 2 p.m. at Broadway Farmer Market in Tacoma
-
Growing Groceries: Aug. 15, 10 – 11 a.m. in Puyallup
-
Reimagining Your Lawn: Aug. 19, 2 – 3 p.m. in Gig Harbor
- Check out our Low Waste Living class at three library locations from 4:30 – 6 p.m.
- Aug. 11 at Lakewood Library
- Aug. 12 at DuPont Library
- Aug. 13 at Tillicum Library
-
Tacoma On the Go Walk: East Tacoma: McKinley Hill Neighborhood in Focus, Aug. 12, 6 p.m. in Tacoma
-
Greenery Prints with Tacoma Tree Foundation: Aug. 12, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. in Tacoma
-
Pierce County Fair: Aug. 13-16 in Graham
-
Beyond the Bin - Free Community Donation event Aug. 14, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Tacoma Recovery & Transfer Center
-
Ribbon Cutting for Sheridan Avenue (Tacoma) bicyclist and pedestrian improvements: Aug. 22, 12 p.m. in Tacoma
-
Rain Tank Installation Workshop: Aug. 22, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Puyallup
-
Tacoma Narrows Airport Day: Aug. 29, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. in Gig Harbor
-
Rooted in the PNW: Embracing Native Plants in Your Garden: Aug. 31, 1 – 2 p.m. at Steilacoom Library
Civic Engagement Opportunities:
| | | | |
