Learn to recycle right, prevent litter, compost your pumpkins, and more!





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Recycling and Garbage News




Squash your waste this fall

Leaves are falling and pumpkins are arriving on grocery store shelves! Welcome to the fall edition of Recycling and Garbage News. In this newsletter, we share tips for recycling right, composting your scraps from your favorite fall foods, preventing litter, and more.

Leaves, pumpkins, and acorns in a line.




Recycle right this season

A season filled with candy and costumes can create a lot of waste! Help us recycle right by correctly sorting out these seasonal items.

*Candy wrappers* of all types and sizes belong in your garbage cart.

*Bulk plastic candy tubs*, like for licorice or sour straws, can be placed in your recycling cart, but make sure to place the lid in the garbage.

Licorice and sour punch straw candy tubs

*Trick or treat bags, buckets, and baskets *can be reused, donated, or placed in the garbage after use.

Plastic cupcake tray

*Plastic platters, clamshells, and cupcake and bakery trays *belong in the garbage. These plastics are the wrong shape for recycling. In Kitsap, we only accept four shapes of plastic packaging for recycling – bottles, jugs, jars, and dairy tubs. These shapes can be sorted at the sorting facility, are consistently purchased by companies to use in their manufacturing, and can be recycled using today's technologies. 



*Costumes and other textiles *can be reused, donated, or taken to a clothing recycling site. Consider participating in a costume swap hosted by a community organization or exchanging costumes with a friend. The Port Orchard Kitsap Regional Library is hosting a Halloween costume swap [ [link removed] ] at the end of September into early October 2024.

Recycling, donation, or disposal question? Search your items using our Waste Wizard tool at Recycle.Kitsap.Gov [ [link removed] ]




Don't let litter haunt our streets





Litter bags for your car.
Get a free litter bag for your car

Each year, almost 38 million pounds of litter accumulates on Washington roadways. Help us keep our roads clean by keeping a litter bag in your car and throwing your trash in a bin.

Starting September 13, 2024, Washington State Department of Ecology is giving away free reusable car litter bags at local *Fred Meyer Grocery Stores*. Supplies are limited, so get yours soon.  

*Learn more* [ [link removed] ]



Beautify your neighborhood. Two people picking up litter with pickers and litter bags.
Fall in love with litter cleanup

Want to help keep our streets clean and litter-free? Join our Adopt a Spot [ [link removed] ] volunteer litter program! We provide participating volunteers with cleanup supplies and free litter disposal.

We welcome individuals, households, and organizations to join this community effort.

*Join Adopt a Spot* [ [link removed] ]






Compost your food scraps, pumpkins, and more!

You can compost your favorite fall foods! From pumpkin pies and turkey bones to coffee grounds and filters, all food scraps and leftovers can be added to your yard waste cart for composting. Learn more about including the food on our ins and outs of composting webpage [ [link removed] ]. 

Take extra care when composting pumpkins

Each year, the United States produces more than 1.2 billion pounds of pumpkins during the fall season. Most of these pumpkins are grown for decorative purposes and a small portion are made into pies and puree (USDA [ [link removed] ]). 

Don't let the labor and resources used to produce your jack-o-lantern go to waste! Once your pumpkin has rotted, turn it into another valuable resource — compost. You can place pumpkins that are free of paint and glitter in your food and yard waste cart. Pumpkins decorated with paint or glitter should be placed in your garbage.

Do's and don'ts of composting your pumpkin.
Compost kit giveaway

Curbside compost cart and kitchen pail toolkit.

Looking for a convenient way to store your food scraps in your kitchen? Sign our pledge to compost right [ [link removed] ] and receive a free compost toolkit, while supplies last! Toolkits include a kitchen pail, BPI certified compostable bags, and other educational resources.

Learn more about composting options in Kitsap in this year's Everyday Kitsap magazine [ [link removed] ]. 







Community events and resources

Got a hole in your favorite fall sweater? Instead of donating or throwing it out—bring it to an upcoming Fix-it Fair! Kitsap Fix-it Fairs [ [link removed] ] are free community events that bring together volunteers with fixing skills and community members with broken items.

Kitsap Fix-it Fair, join us for community repair events this fall [ [link removed] ]
Other community events

Groups and organizations are paving the way for a more sustainable Kitsap. Check out these waste reduction events happening around our community:


* People’s Exchange [ [link removed] ] in Bremerton hosts a free mending meetup each month on the second Friday.
* WSU Kitsap Extension is hosting a free virtual Food Safety and Meal Planning [ [link removed] ] workshop on September 25, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. Learn proper food handling techniques and meal preparation tips to reduce food waste. Register through Eventbrite [ [link removed] ].

Resources and creative ways to reduce waste

Learn more about preventing and reducing waste with these resources:


* REUSE! Because You Can’t Recycle The Planet [ [link removed] ] is a short documentary highlighting businesses and organizations that are taking innovative approaches to reusing items.
* Repair Revolution [ [link removed] ] is a book that discusses how communities around the world are coming together to repair their broken items and reduce waste sent to the landfill. You can borrow this book at the Kitsap Regional Library.
* Washington Statewide Recycling and Organics Characterization Study (2022-2023) [ [link removed] ]. Dive into our local waste in this technical report put together by Washington State Department of Ecology.  
* Save The Food [ [link removed] ] is a website filled with recipes to help you use your food scraps. Welcome in fall by turning your leftover mashed potatoes into delicious apple cider donuts. [ [link removed] ]





Facility news

New accessible recycling bins at the Hansville Recycling and Garbage Facility

Accessible mixed recycling bins now at Hansville.

In June 2024, we began a pilot program at our Hansville facility to make recycling more accessible for everyone. We installed new recycling dumpsters that are low to the ground and don't require stairs to use.

“Our goal is to make using our facilities more customer-friendly and easy to access,” says Solid Waste Program Manager, Kevin Bevelhimer. Community members are welcome to use the new bins located at the front of the Hansville recycling yard.

Our pilot with these new bins was successful, so we plan to install them at the Olalla and Silverdale Recycling and Garbage Facilities in 2025.







Contact information

Kitsap County Public Works, Solid Waste Division, 360.337.5777 or [email protected]
Kimberly Pleger, Public Works Communications Manager, 360.337.5777 or [email protected]

 







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