Letter to the Editor: We Can Do More to Recycle

Orcas Bite was a Success, yes indeed, but our community recycle efforts that same day were not!

I was disappointed to see no easy way to recycle all the paper plates, coffee cups, lemonade glasses, and plastic forks that we all consumed. This seems to happen often here on Orcas.

But the good news is that soon our Chamber of Commerce will have a partial solution to this situation. New combo recycle/trash bins will be placed around Eastsound! This is a well-needed, long-awaited step. They are appreciated. I hope they are used correctly by community and visitors.

In the mean time, we all might consider carrying our own reusable coffee cup and fork. Just a new habit to include in our every day lives! It is easy and can make a huge difference if we all pitch in.

I know that the trash and recycle issues here on Orcas are complex, expensive, and long standing, BUT, one easy solution is for each of us to not generate so much trash at public events. Let’s all try harder to tread lighter on Planet Earth.

The familiar mantra of reduce and reuse is very important to sustaining Life on Earth. Recycling is only the least we can, and should, do.

Our beloved Orca whales will also benefit! This most popular, beloved and famous inhabitant of our Salish Sea is a very toxic mammal. Our consumption habits may be the biggest of the many complex reasons for this. More than ever, we have to change our life-style patterns.

Governor Inslee has declared June to be Orca Awareness Month. Let’s give these wonderful creatures a gift, the potential of a healthier life!

Our Orca whales are contaminated, laden with toxic chemicals, at risk for disease. They may be the very symbol of a world spoiled by human pollutants.

“Orca whales can now be considered among the most contaminated marine mammals in the world,” said Dr. Peter Ross, research scientist with the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney, B.C., and lead author of a new study titled “High PCB Concentrations in Free-Ranging Pacific Killer Whales, Orcinus orca.”

And by the way, did you know that only 13% of all trash is recycled?

Do you know that the average American produces 4 1/5 lbs of trash each and every day?

Do you know that Americans produce more trash, per inhabitant, than any other country?

I recently learned these and other worrisome facts from the WSU extension course I participated in, Composting/Recycling. Great class, it is offered every spring, watch for it next season!

Cathy Ellis, Eastsound