May 4, 2022
New Recycling Poster from Kitsap Solid Waste
In an effort to increase uniformity in recycling rules and to try to collect items that have the best chance of actually being recycled, Kitsap Solid Waste has revamped its list of accepted recyclables.* Bainbridge Disposal, which takes recyclables to the same materials recovery facility (MRF) as Kitsap, will have this poster up on their website soon. Here are the major changes:

  • Milk cartons - put in the trash
  • Frozen food boxes - put in the trash
  • Caps and lids - put in the trash

*Note that some items listed in the garbage section can be put in yard waste bins:
  • greasy pizza cardboard - remove any stickers on box (and tear off the clean pizza cardboard top to recycle)
  • napkins and regular paper towels (no shop towels)
  • shredded paper ONLY IF it is pure copy paper - no gloss, no staples/paper clips, no plastic cards/plastic windows

For more information on recycling, visit Kitsap's Recycle Right page.
Adopt a Spot
In more Kitsap County Solid Waste news, the former Adopt-a-Road litter clean-up program has been renamed and retooled in an effort to increase participation by individuals and groups in picking up trash. It's not just roads anymore that are eligible for the new Adopt-a-Spot program. Beaches and parks are candidates, too.

By scrolling down on the home page, you'll see a map showing currently adopted locations. You can zoom in to see the specific areas on Bainbridge that are already being cleaned up.
Adopters are only expected to pick up twice a year. The county will supply bags, grabbers, and safety vests. You do not pay disposal fees on the litter you collect, and you can set the county bags right next to your curbside trash bin or take to the Bainbridge Disposal Transfer Station. More details are on the website's FAQ page.
Farmers' Market Reuse/Recycling News
Zero Waste's monthly booth is back at the BI Farmers' Market on May 14, 10am-2pm. Every second Saturday through September, you may bring your small bits of scrap metal to our collection jar, which we will eventually drop off at the Bainbridge Disposal Transfer Station in the scrap metal dumpster.
Examples of small metal objects:
  • jar lids
  • bottle caps
  • IKEA wrenches
  • keys, keyrings
  • screws, nails, washers
  • misshapen paper clips
  • jewelry bits
  • hair clips, bobby pins
Kerry Sanson tries to keep everything local at her Preserve booth each Saturday at the market. She sources berries for her handcrafted jams and condiments from various Bainbridge farms, and her jar labels use soy ink from a Poulsbo printing company.

Kerry encourages reuse by offering a $1 total discount on your next purchase order if you bring in one or more canning-type glass jars, any size, patterns okay (see photo).
If you've been busy planting and are wondering what to do with those empty pots, take a careful look below at who will take what sizes and shapes off your hands. Please be sure to donate only pots in good condition -- nothing cracked or misshapen.

  • 4" square - Persephone Farm and Butler Green Farms (at the BI Farmers' Market)
  • 1/2-gallon or smaller in solid colors, no writing or brand names - 4615 New Sweden Av
  • 1 gallon or larger, round shape - Butler Green Farms
  • 5 gallon or larger - Bainbridge Gardens
  • 10 gallon or larger - Bay Hay and Feed

Zero Waste's Reuse/Recycle Guide plant pot page has a few more details. Another reuse option is posting on Facebook's Bainbridge Garden Exchange group.
Join ReFashion Bainbridge at IslandWood on Sunday, June 12, for Fashion in the Forest (formerly known as the Trashion Show). Come anytime between 1-4pm to stroll the trails and speak with models and artists stationed at various intervals. The outfits this year -- numbering over 20 -- have been created to meet the criteria from these three juried categories: Theatrical, Ready-to-Wear, and Mystery Box Challenge.

Extra optional activities include
  • a scavenger hunt for fast fashion facts
  • a clothing swap
  • a creative postcard writing effort to rethink t-shirts as event prizes
  • an optional self-exploration of IslandWood's two treehouses and forest canopy tower
To keep informed about the latest ReFashion-related classes, workshops, events and resources on a quarterly basis (or as needed), sign up for the brand new ReFashion Bainbridge newsletter.
State News
Read the ever-informative Zero Waste Washington spring newsletter. Some highlights:
  • 2022 zero waste-related legislation enacted
  • First furniture Fix-it Fair recap (ZW Washington brings one to BI this summer)
  • Registration for two upcoming virtual summits on litter and the Precycle Innovation Challenge
Newsletter editor: Diane Landry, BI Zero Waste (Volunteer) Director
Back issues are available here.
BI Zero Waste is an all-volunteer program of Sustainable Bainbridge.
Send feedback here.