Tips to reduce waste and reminders on facility holiday closures.





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Kitsap County Solid Waste Recycling and Garbage. Cranberry background with a cartoon fridge, plate of food, and shopping list.




Reducing waste this Thanksgiving

Welcome to the Thanksgiving edition of Recycling and Garbage News. In this newsletter, we share tips for reducing food waste, recycling right, and remembering your reusable bags. We also share reminders of recycling and garbage facility holiday closures.

Cartoon leaves in a line




Celebrate the holidays without the food waste

Americans are expected to throw out 320 million pounds [ [link removed] ] of food this Thanksgiving—equal to $550 million worth of food and 267 million meals! At a time when so many community members go hungry, this amount of waste is unacceptable. This holiday season, take these simple actions to reduce wasted food in your own home:

*Plan ahead.* It's always a challenge to estimate how much food you need for your dinner party guests. Use Save the Food’s Guest-imator [ [link removed] ] to help you plan the right amount of side dishes, main dishes, and desserts.

*Donate what you can*. Even when you plan ahead, sometimes you are left with extra boxes of stuffing or cans of cranberry sauce. Many of these shelf-stable ingredients are accepted at local food banks. [ [link removed] ]

*Transform holiday leftovers. *Turn your leftovers into new meals, like turkey shawarma or shepherd's pie. Find more recipes on Ecology’s Use Food Well website [ [link removed] ].

*Learn more tips* [ [link removed] ]






From your plate to the curbside compost cart

When your leftovers are no longer usable, place them in your food and yard waste (compost) cart! Most Kitsap homes can sign up for this convenient curbside service through their waste collection service provider. Learn more on our composting in Kitsap webpage [ [link removed] ].

Live in Seabeck? Good news! Starting January 2026, WM will offer curbside organics collection service to Seabeck and other outlying western communities, including Crosby, Hintzville, Hite Center, Lake Symington, Lake Tahuyeh, Olympic View, Wildcat Lake, and Warrenville.

Toss your food scraps into your food and yard waste cart! Festive thanksgiving food scraps and leftovers falling into a green yard waste cart. [ [link removed] ]




Don't throw it away! Recycle computers, monitors, and televisions for FREE. Find a drop-off site: ecyclewa.org
Free electronic recycling

Upgrading your TV, computer, tablet, or e-reader this season? Recycle your old or broken electronics for free with E-Cycle Washington.

Learn more about what electronics are accepted on E-Cycle Washington's website [ [link removed] ]. 

*Find an e-cycle site* [ [link removed] ]


Bring your own bags

Bags, wallet, keys, phone—check! Whether you’re shopping for groceries or gifts, don’t forget to bring your own bags.

Washington State has been transitioning away from single-use plastic bags since 2021 [ [link removed] ]. Starting in January 2026, bag fees in stores and restaurants will increase from 8 cents to 12 cents. The best way to avoid the charge and reduce plastic waste is by bringing your own bags.



Person peeling potatoes with a compost kitchen caddy in the background filled with food waste and scraps.
Make food waste separation easy

Looking for a convenient way to store food scraps in your kitchen? Sign our pledge to compost right [ [link removed] ] and receive a free compost toolkit, while supplies last. Each toolkit includes a kitchen pail, BPI-certified compostable bags, and other educational resources to help you get started.

*Pledge to compost right* [ [link removed] ]






What do I do with...?

Recycle with confidence this Thanksgiving with these helpful tips.

*Aluminum pie and food trays* belong in the garbage. Opt for reuseable casserole or pie dishes if making your own desserts and food.

*Plastic trays and clamshells *used for deli foods, desserts, fruits, and vegetables belong in the garbage. Use reuseable food trays and dishware if possible.

*Plastic cups, utensils, and plates* belong in the garbage. If you're hosting a Friendsgiving or Thanksgiving dinner, ask your guests to bring their own service ware and take-home containers to help you save time on dishes!

*Plastic tubs for whipped toppings (like Cool Whip) *belong in the recycling cart after a quick rinse. Place the lid in the garbage.

*Aerosol whipped cream cans *belong in the garbage once they’re empty.

*Pumpkin puree and cranberry sauce metal cans* belong in the recycling cart after a quick rinse. Place loose lids in the garbage.

*String lights *can be recycled at scrap metal drop-off sites [ [link removed] ]. Keep string lights *out* of your curbside recycling cart, as they damage recycling machinery. 

Search our Waste Wizard [ [link removed] ] to find more answers on proper disposal and recycling.

Examples of items you can search on the Waste Wizard: Cooking oil, batteries, string lights, aluminum tins, sweaters, paper plates, and turkey.




Facility holiday hours and facility news

Thanksgiving Day facility closures

All Kitsap County Recycling and Garbage Facilities [ [link removed] ] and Olympic View Transfer Station [ [link removed] ] are closed on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 27). The Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility [ [link removed] ] is closed Thanksgiving weekend (Thursday, November 27 - Sunday, November 30). Visit our webpage [ [link removed] ] for facility hours, rates, and accepted items. 

Exact change requested at facilities

Because pennies are no longer being produced, our facilities are experiencing a limited supply of pennies. To help keep transactions running smoothly, we ask customers to pay with exact change whenever possible. Thank you!






Waste reduction and recycling resources

Learn more about preventing and reducing waste with these resources:


* How much food will go to waste this Thanksgiving? About $550 million worth (ReFED) [ [link removed] ]
* Unraveling the textile industry for a regenerative Washington webinar series (Ecology) [ [link removed] ]
* Local volunteers take pride in beautifying Bremerton (Kitsap Daily News) [ [link removed] ]
* Use Food Well food scrap recipe webinars with Chef Joel (Ecology) [ [link removed] ]





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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