— from Tim Blanchard, ORS Board President and Pete Moe, Executive Director —
Ever since we lost The Exchange to fire, everyone’s wondering, “When will it re-open?” It’s an important question. Every day our community is losing economic and social value as useful goods are shipped off island, sit in our garages, or become garbage sent to the landfill.
Orcas Recycling Services, the non-profit that has always operated The Exchange, successfully took over operation of the Orcas Transfer Station a year ago. Since then we have also been working hard to re-establish The Exchange. In that effort we’ve been assisted by many generous volunteers and local organizations. Your support has brought us to this day.
We are very happy to now recommend a plan for a re-establishing The Exchange. After careful consideration, and with the benefit of experience running the Transfer Station, we’ve concluded that the most cost-effective and expedient way to re-open The Exchange may not be rebuilding on the original site.
• What if we could purchase an existing commercial building that with some renovation could re-open as The Exchange in a matter of months?
• What if we, as a nonprofit, 501(c)(3), community organization, could secure OWNERSHIP of property to give The Exchange a permanent home for generations to come?
• What if that property included land appropriate for various cooperative community projects (e.g., composting) to advance our mission of building a zero-waste community through service, education and stewardship of our waste/resource streams?
With your support, we can make this vision a reality. The Exchange/ORS has entered into negotiations, subject to a feasibility study, to purchase a parcel on Orcas Road that includes a commercial building and substantial acreage. We will need to complete due diligence, secure necessary permits, and confirm that we have sufficient financial and community support for the project.
We are working diligently on the regulatory feasibility and other aspects, but we need your assistance to establish the financial feasibility of the project.
We are asking you to invest in a permanent and independent Exchange on Orcas. The project is currently estimated to cost $500,000. These funds will allow us to secure the property, make necessary renovations, and quickly re-open The Exchange, assuming successful permitting.
In the event regulatory issues foreclose this opportunity, we would return to our plan to re-establish The Exchange at the County Transfer Station site, although as a practical matter it will take longer, and likely be more expensive to complete. Either way, every dollar generated during this capital campaign will be dedicated exclusively to re-establishing The Exchange.
Please visit our terrific new website at wwwexchangeorcas.org. There we will be posting the latest news and updates about this project. There you can sign up for our electronic newsletter, and learn more about the waste stream on Orcas Island. You can also make a donation online at our website or through the Orcas Island Community Foundation.
We hope you share our excitement about this significant opportunity to re-establish this vital institution. We invite you to join us in beginning a new era for our community’s beloved Exchange!
“what if we” put up a building where the old one was, make it neater, keep it clean and not spend more money than need be….
“what if we” just make it with what we can and save money rather than keep spending it.
500,000 really….come on cant we just make a recycle center why does it have to be such a production…..
My own preference is to have all “trash-related” operations and services in one convenient place.
That will necessarily include the Orcas Transfer Station and recycling, the compost operation, the “dead appliances” dump, and also The Exchange.
Separating some of these services out would not only be inconvenient, but also inefficient.
Think, for instance, of goods offered to The Exchange which turn out to be either unusable or, eventually, usable yet unwanted. If the Transfer Station is immediately nearby, no extra trip to discard such stuff would be necessary.
Keep these services together in one location.
I think with The Exchange gone, Buy Sell Trade (FB page) has become the place to go for unwanted “usable” items as well as Score thrift shop. The exchange is a good idea if they actually kept the “usable” items in a weather-proof structure. The old exchange had items under tarps which were subjected to the elements and became junk.
I think it is a wonderful idea and would make The Exchange more independent and able to do more (like composting)! The convenience of having everything together is not worth waiting years for!!! We need The Exchange now! My basement is full with stuff I’m going to take to The Exchange when it reopens. I’ve been brainwashed and can’t put good things in to a land fill…when they could be helping someone get established here on the Island. Merry
Please put the Exchange back where it was and keep it simple!
After some 30 years of discussing how to establish an Exchange with people throughout the country and the world, I am certain that the single most important element of a successful, integrated waste/ reuse facility like the Exchange is that it be located in conjunction with a disposal/transfer site.We are so fortunate to have that possibility here on Orcas, unlike so many other communities. I am shocked to think we would abandon that advantage.
While admittedly the perfect solution would be to have both The Exchange and the Transfer Station at the same location, I think that this plan is a really strong proposal for two reasons.
First, by owning the property parcel outright the community gains equity and all the improvements that we make to the Exchange are an investment in the future of good decision-making on Orcas.
Secondly, acquiring this property and renovating the existing structure seems to me exactly the right beginning for the project, because isn’t that what the Exchange is all about? Reuse, renovate, recycle.
This sounds like a smart initial proposal, and I am interested in hearing what other people in the community think. It’s time to move the project forward.
Change is always difficult, as we’ve seen with the soon-to-be ferry reservation system.
I know the site and building that ORS is in negotiations with to purchase. It’s not far from the dump, and, besides already having a suitable structure for the Exchange’s wares, provides open , level land for future creative use: composting, donations of large items such as farm & construction equipment, community gardens, and perhaps even the dump itself.
After reading Tim’s and Pete’s thoughtful and well-reasoned proposal…as well as the seven existing comments, evenly divided pro and con…I offer the following…
A central aspect of the Exchange has been its support by virtually 100% of the Orcas community…over 25 years, I have yet to hear a single negative comment about its basic premises; however, I have heard much about how its goals would be much more achievable if the Exchange would be integrated into the larger issue of solid waste disposal.
Given that ORS is now contracted w/ SJC to handle the entire solid waste stream…(and all reports I’ve heard indicate that it’s doing a great job)…it strikes me as odd that ORS now proposes to take the Exchange offsite of the transfer station and essentially treat it as an entity separate and apart from the solid waste stream. Conceptually, and from a systems point of view, it seems to be like a step in the wrong direction. (Having studied the site with others in some detail, I am not persuaded that the transfer station site is inadequate to accommodate all of the desired functions.)
My hopes and dreams for a new Exchange is that it’s rebirth has 100% support by the Orcas community. To get that support, I believe that many many more people will need to become invested in the process of its creation.
One way to achieve that broad investment is to pursue a “consensus”, something which I define as:
“a decision by two or more people…a decision which everyone may not believe is the best decision…but is a decision which everyone can live with and commit themselves not to undermine”
Locally, we can witness what’s possible within a consensus framework…for example, resolution of the funding stalemate of the OISD school improvements, and the construction of our Stage on the Green in the center of Eastsound.
The problem here is the complete bureaucracy that exists in the building department in Friday Harbor. It took months to get a demolition permit. The Exchange is the Poster Child of what is wrong in our building department. The Commissioners should nicely suggest to the building Department to FAST TRACK the original plans that Fred and many others worked on.
I think we should make exceptions to the imposed bureaucratic regulations that don’t fit this type of simple homegrown business? If we have forgotten how to do this, lets ask George.
I agree with others that separating The Exchange from the dump would be a mistake. While the end result of items brought to the old combined Exchange and dump were different, the original intent of the individual was to dispose of the item. One went to a single location to dispose of items they no longer wanted.
Should a separation of the two sites be a forgone conclusion, I would argue that the Carlson property on Orcas Rd is a poor choice. Schaeffer Stretch is one of the fastest sections of roadway on Orcas Island. It may be signed for 40 mph, but the speed limit is rarely observed. To introduce a large volume of traffic stopping, turning, and entering into this section of road invites collisions, potentially very severe collisions. While the current dump location is no prize, at least the curve and the narrower section of road encourage slower speeds.
I feel strongly that it would be a mistake to move the Exchange to a different location. Everything should be done to recreate the Exchange at the disposal site. The property on Orcas Road is a dangerous stretch to have cars and trucks pulling in and out. This is a matter of public safety. It makes sense for the Exchange to be where the disposal site is because it is more convenient for the people and because evidence indicates that successful models of this sort of endeavor works best when the two are on the same site, such as we had until the fire. I hope our county officials can work with the board to expedite the process and do what makes sense and keep the Exchange where it is. Let’s have an immediate plan to build the road to make the Exchange exist at its present site.
Didier Gincig
The “by donation” aspect of the exchange of old was revolutionary and forward thinking. Im afraid that if the exchange were to be moved to a property with a high price tag there would be no choice but to price all the items for sale. Also if the exchange were to be built in a new location and ORS were to fail in there endeavor the transfer station site may not stay available and our community would have lost a key component that defines our island lives. Lets rebuild a clean and simple building on the existing site!
Hi all–To address the many questions regarding Orcas Recycling Service’s plans for rebuilding the Exchange, ORS has scheduled a community Q&A this Sunday, December 7th, from 5-7pm at the Eastsound Fire Station. See you there!
There isn’t enough land at the old Exchange site to rebuild an Exchange that takes things like building materials; nor is there a chance to expand things such as composting.
County law dictates that everything must be containerized – I don’t know how George got away with not doing it for all these years, but the grandfathering is gone on that. The great news is that things that will be covered will not sit out in the weather and become trash. This supports our moving more toward zero waste.
Why the County has not fast-tracked the building of a temporary Exchange site at the Transfer Station is a baffling and frustrating mystery. If it had, we likely would not be having this proposal or discussion.
The County wanted out of waste management and they opened it up for contract negotiations. ORS won a 5 year contract. There is no guarantee that their contract will be renewed, since the County has the sole right to renew the contract, re-negotiate it, or open things back up to another bid by interested parties. After 15 or so years, the bid process starts all oer again. In these times, where the most money can effect policy and buy elections, it seems prudent to look toward a permanent guaranteed home for the Exchange.
The majority of us wanted local control, and the individuals who made up, and now make up, ORS, gave all they had to give this to the community – so much more than most of us can ever imagine.
@ Fred Klein – there is no such thing as 100% community consensus. There has been opposition to both the Exchange and ORS from the outset. The majority of people wanted both, and the majority of us prevailed – since we are the county.
Change is inevitable. The fire ended an era of the Exchange and we can’t go back to the “good ol’ days.” ORS deserves a chance to take this where the community said we wanted it to go.
@ Allan Rosato; ORC has every intention of keeping the “by donation” aspect of the Exchange. They understand its importance in terms of the vast income disparity on these islands.
I love the idea of a permanent site, where we could expand on recycling and up-cycling and move toward our zero waste goals. The proximity of this site to Agricultural land allows building a model where responsible agriculture, composting, wetland restoration, and cleaning up of Bill Carlson’s junk and pollution would be a community service, and a lasting gift to the community.
Whether it happens at the old Carlson place or elsewhere, or the Transfer Station, the idea of heading toward zero waste cannot be realized if:
1) there isn’t enough land for any kind of expansion to the Echange
2) permits keep taking years to get – so that even a temporary Exchange hasnt happened yet. It’s been two years since the fire.
3) there isn’t community support, involvement, and participation in creating less waste stream
4) the public lacks the education to move toward less waste
I’m all for achieving a permanent, sovereign home for the Exchange – wherever that happens.