If you've ever wondered where your commingled recycling goes, we can now show you from the comfort of your screen!



Introducing the premiere of our new movie, Commingled Recycling!! Go beyond the bin and find out what happens to your recycling after it leaves the curb.

This is THE time to get your gear ready for spring hiking and sharpening up your garden tools for the season ahead.

Our team of expert fixers will try to get your items back in action, for free! They can perform most repairs including wood fixes, tool and knife sharpening, sewing and mending, electrical and mechanical fixes, and basic bicycle maintenance.

Please remember:

• Items must be small enough to be carried, not leaking fluids or hazardous in any way
• You must stay with your item during its repair
• Please bring any parts you may need to complete the repair (cords, buttons, etc.)

Last week, your plastic film was loaded on a truck on sent down to Nevada to become plastic lumber! It took us a year to save up enough plastic film for the shipment. The entire load equated to about 15,000 pounds--that's a LOT of plastic headed for a new life!

Remember: To recycle plastic film, please bring it to us at the recycling center. Plastic film cannot go into your blue WasteWise bin.

While we'll be unveiling the official details of the program in early summer, we thought we'd give you a sneak peek at how our upcoming residential compost program will run.

Much like urban communities that have green bins for kitchen scraps, households that sign up for the program will receive a pail that they empty at Methow Recycles into a secured bin. From our facility, the kitchen scraps will be hauled to B2G Compost, a permitted facility located in Winthrop. There the kitchen scraps will be turned into nutrient-rich compost. The finished product will be available for purchase locally.

Methow Recycles' primary role in the program is to educate our community about what can and cannot go into the compost bin. This will be vital to the success of the program. Given the Methow Valley's excellent track record for quality recycling, we don't anticipate many issues!

We have been laying the groundwork for a residential compost program for years and are beyond thrilled to be at this point where it's all coming to fruition!

If your household is interested in composting, be on the lookout for a special enews announcing the launch of the program in early summer!

We've got boxes of beautiful ceramic tiles in the ReMake Center right now and it got us thinking about all of the beautiful things these tiles could become. There are even a few bags of cement to get you going! We've got a few ideas for you below, from simple mosaic projects you can do with kids to more involved projects.

If you are a bit nervous to give tile installation a try or don't know where to begin, The Spruce has this great beginner's tutorial that walks you through the process in a very easy-to-follow way.

Don't forget to stop by the Tool Library and pick up the hand tools you need to complete your tile job!

A tiled wall, a stepping stone, and a mosaic table using repurposed patio furniture. Click on an image to go to a tutorial on how to make your own!

If you've caught the mosaic bug, watch this short video on how to make a mosaic patio!

With farmers market season upon us, we'll soon be stocking our fridge with fresh, delicious produce. But if your household is anything like the average American household, about 30% of that food is going to be wasted every year! That equates to almost $2,000 annually!!

We'd be lying if we said we never had a bag of spinach or a bunch of chard go wilty. Luckily, even tired-looking produce can still play a starring role in a meal. One of our staff members came across this brilliant recipe in a recent newsletter from our friends at Hole Food Rescue in Jackson, Wyoming. We started calling them Use 'Em Up Spring Rolls.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

NOTE: These spring rolls can easily be made in quantity. Ideally, you could plan according to what you have instead of buying new food. Really anything could go into these spring rolls: leftover spaghetti, chicken or tofu, julienned apples, basil, asparagus. Just keep the ratio of ingredients in mind (no massive bites of mint please!)

Ingredients: 

Spring roll rice wrappers

1 cup of greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula, whatever you have on hand) 

1 cup of thinly sliced cabbage 

2 carrots thinly sliced into matchsticks or grated 

½ cucumber sliced into matchsticks

3 green onions sliced 

Handful of chopped fresh cilantro 

Handful of chopped mint

Small chunks of fresh mango

Cooked thin noodles (such as vermicelli, thin udon) 

Some spice (sriracha, jalapeños)

For sauce: 

⅓ cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce/tamari

2 tablespoons sweetener of choice (honey, brown sugar)

1 tablespoons sesame oil 

2 cloves garlic pressed/minced

2-3 tablespoons water (or more to thin out sauce)

Method: 

1. Fill a pie pan or baking dish with an inch of warm water (make sure the dish is big enough for a rice wrap to lie flat in.
2. Submerge one wrap in the water for 20 seconds, or until it is pliable but not super floppy (you will figure out the technique the more you do it).
3. Remove from the water and lay flat on a big plate. Add your fillings of choice, make sure it’s not so full that you can’t roll it.
4. To form the roll: a great video here
5. Whisk sauce ingredients together, adding more water if you want it runnier. 

Dip spring roll into sauce and ENJOY!

Recipe adapted from blog: Cookie and Kate