Saturday, November 3, 2 – 5 p.m., Eastsound Fire Station
–– from Pete Moe for Orcas Recycling Services —
Members of the Orcas Island community are invited to a forum: “Talking Trash – Imagining the Future for Solid Waste on Orcas”, Saturday November 3rd, from 2-5 p.m. at the EastsoundFire Hall.
Community members are invited to attend and participate in this interactive discussion surrounding the future of solid waste in our community. This event is part of the Recycle 2.0 initiative launched by ORS/The Exchange to provide ongoing education surrounding the nation-wide recycling crisis.
Topics will include the current status of the recycling industry, food waste and community-scale composting, strategies for reducing waste at the source, reuse concepts, and more.
Orcas Recycling Services staff and Board members will be present to answer questions, report on recent developments, and moderate a panel of experts including:
Heather Trim, Executive Director of Zero Waste Washington, a company working to protect people and the natural world by advocating for products designed and produced to be healthy, safe, and continually recycled and reused. Heather’s experience includes Toxics Program Manager for Puget Sound, Staff Scientist for Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council, and Policy Director for Peoples Incorporated. She has a B.S. in Geology and a PhD in Geochemistry.
Paul Andersson, District Manager of the Lopez Solid Waste District and co-founder of Aveterra, a composting company working to establish community-scale composting yards around the country and has also developed programs, policies and infrastructure to hasten the adoption of clean energy, electric vehicles and improved greenhouse gas accountability at the municipal and regional levels. Paul has a B.A. in English Literature and an MBA from Presidio Graduate School.
Mark Herrenkohl, Solid Waste Program Administrator for San Juan County Public Works and seasoned environmental consultant specializing in site characterization, feasibility studies, engineering design and permitting, construction oversight, and monitoring. Mark has a B.A. in Geology, an M.S. in Oceanography, and is both a certified Licensed Engineering Geologist and an Emergency Medical Technician in Washington State.
The afternoon will begin with introductions and a general overview of the solid waste system on Orcas, and in San Juan County. The panel will make brief presentations, address various topics and answer questions before everyone splits up into smaller groups for a visioning exercise. The panel will then address the questions and practicalities developed by the smaller groups.
Orcas Recycling Services/The Exchange is a community-driven 501(c)(3) non-profit with a mission to: “Build a zero-waste community through service, education, and stewardship of our waste/resource stream.”
Orcas Recycling Services/The Exchange has been in operation since 1984, managing the Orcas Island Transfer Station since September 2013, and operating a new Exchange reuse store since November 2017. www.exchangeorcas.org.
I heard at one time Orcas Island had considered a high temp waste burn facility. Spokane has successfully operated one for years and also converts the heat to steam for electricity.
I would recommend people select aluminum cans over glass for items purchased like beer, pop…Nobody is buying glass and it is expensive to haul off island due to weight.
Better yet, encourage producers, stores to stock items that are not over-packaged. It is silly to buy pre-cut fruit, etc. in single use plastic cartons. If manufacturers realize that some of us do not buy their products due to single use packaging they might finally get a clue.