What is the big deal with single-use plastic, anyway? If you want to understand how we got to our current global plastic pollution crisis, sign up here to watch the Emmy-winning The Story of Plastic anytime before July 31. As a follow-up, you will have the opportunity to attend a panel of plastic pollution speakers addressing the film's topic and any questions you may have on Sunday, July 31 at 1pm.

Plastics legislation has been and will continue to be the key to driving up recycling rates, increasing post-consumer content, regulating plastic production, prohibiting certain kinds of plastic and promoting reuse in place of single-use. To find out what is in the works at the state level, register to attend "Tackling Plastic: What's Next for Washington" on Thursday, July 21 at 2pm.

And here's a short read with facts and figures on why that legislation is necessary.

Sometimes companies can be pressured to change their ways through petitions. The plastic problem involves many players. One that is not so obvious is the shipping industry. If you have seen The Story of Plastic, you know that countries with less strict pollution controls and infrastructure than we have ended up taking our plastic waste, especially since China stopped doing so in 2018. You can make it harder for this waste and "recycling" outsourcing to take place by signing this petition urging sustainability-minded shipping giant Maersk to refuse to ship plastic waste exports (as one French shipping line has already done) from richer regions such as the U.S. and Europe to less affluent countries .

On Saturday, July 23 at 10am around the country, people will be taking back the plastic packaging their food came in that was purchased at Trader Joe's. The produce department is a good example where excessive packaging occurs.

BI Zero Waster Barbara Ochota intends to take back the plastic insert from her box of TJ cookies, as shown below. She objects to the misleading claim that the plastic is "100% recyclable," when, in fact, it is 0% recyclable in Kitsap County (see partial poster below), as well as in many parts of the country. If you are interested in car-pooling with her to the Silverdale Trader Joe’s, please contact Barbara here. 

If you like to hike and enjoy pristine wilderness, consider participating in the Plastic-free Parks Trashblitz taking place July-September.

Choose a national park, register it here, pick up litter as you hike, and record what you find. The data will contribute to a report that will reveal the materials, items, and brands of waste found across our national parks. These results will be used to support and advise legislation that keeps harmful single-use plastic out of our protected spaces.

Finally, if you need some guidance or extra tips on how to take plastic out of your life, Eco-Cycle offers another of its top-notch webinars, this time on "How to Quit Plastics."

On Tuesday, July 19, 5-6:30pm, they will focus on what you can do on an individual scale to evaluate the plastics in your life/household, swap single-use products out, and recycle the plastics you are currently stuck with. Registration is here.

Thank you to all who volunteered to fill in the 50+ shifts for set-up, take-down and the all-important station staffing on the 4th of July. (Pictured: Susan Knell at the mid-street Bjune station.) Likewise, we're grateful to those who helped the night before at the Street Dance while the boys high school water polo team managed the discard stations.

By helping guests to put stuff in the right spot, we were able to send off food waste and certified-compostable fiber dishware free of plastic and other contaminants to a compost facility instead of the landfill, thereby keeping greenhouse gases from being produced and providing feedstock for making nutrient-rich compost.

Head down to Bainbridge Arts and Crafts now through July 30 to see the winning outfits from the ReFashion Show in each of the four submission categories: mystery box, upcycled, student, and theatrical (1st and 2nd). Even if you saw them at the show, the designs give off a whole new vibe in the display window.

If you'd like to see photos of the all first and second place recipients, go to the ReFashion Trashion Show page.

If you haven't heard by now, the Kitsap County Commissioners have approved a substantial increase to garbage rates -- 16.5% in June 2022 and January 2023 -- to cover the projected increased costs over the next seven years for facility improvements. (Go here for a fuller explanation.) Bainbridge Disposal is affected because they truck our trash to the county-owned Olympic View Transfer Station. (Note: Once there, the trash is compacted and loaded onto a double decker train bound for the Columbia Ridge Landfill in Arlington, Oregon, 300 miles away.)

Garbage costs at all county drop-off locations are designed to discourage one-can trips, which are inefficient, especially compared to curbside service, where one truck drives through a neighborhood emptying everyone's cans all at once. If you compare rates in the two charts above, you will see that, if you are an average household producing one 32-gallon's worth of trash per week, it is cheaper to subscribe with Bainbridge Disposal than do self-haul.

And to clarify, Bainbridge Disposal also charges for recycling. (Its rates are approved by the Utilities and Transportation Commission.) So for example, if you self-haul and bring a can of trash and a can of recyclables to the transfer station, the fee would be $18 -- $13 for one can plus $5 for the second can.

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