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Neighborhood Waste Reduction Rewards
Waste Less. Win More.
If you live in the City of Shoreline you can team up with your neighbors, reduce waste and win a $10,000 neighborhood improvement project (benches, kiosk, public art, p-patch shed, etc.) paid for by CleanScapes.
To win, reduce ALL waste – garbage, yard waste, and recycling! The neighborhood collection area with the greatest percentage reduction in all waste by early Spring 2010 wins!
Win $10,000 for a Community Improvement Project!
 Neighborhood Waste Reduction Rewards
• The competition ends in Spring 2010.
• To win, team up with your neighbors to reduce the total amount of waste - garbage+recycle+yard waste.
• Click here to view map.
Waste Reduction Tips
• Take It Back!
Do you have old or unused computers, monitors, laptops or televisions collecting dust? If they are beyond repair, don’t despair! E-Cycle Washington offers FREE, convenient and environmentally responsible recycling. To find the nearest drop-off location call 1-800-recycle or visit www.ecyclewashington.com. These electronic items contain hazardous materials and are not allowed in the garbage in King County.
If your electronics are still in working condition, consider donating them- there are many non-profit organizations, schools and other groups who make great use of second-hand electronics.
Sources: | E-Cycle Washington | King County Hazardous Waste | EPA Electronics Reuse and Recycling
• The Big Picture
Many computers, monitors, laptops and televisions contain lead, cadmium and mercury - toxic metals that can cause a range of health problems. Reusing and recycling electronics keeps these toxic materials out of our landfills and also recovers valuable resources.
Starting in January 2009, the Washington State Department of Ecology launched E-Cycle Washington, which requires electronics manufacturers to collect and recycle their products. The new law is an example of "producer responsibility," where the company that makes a product is responsible for recycling the product at the end of its life.
The Washington State Department of Ecology reports more than 38.5 million pounds of TVs, computers and monitors were recycled free of charge in 2009.
The Take it Back Network, another local resource for electronics recycling, is a partnership among government agencies, retail and repair shops, charitable organizations and recyclers that provides consumers with options for recycling products that contain hazardous materials, such as electronics, fluorescent tubes and bulbs and pharmaceuticals, in a safe, responsible and cost effective manner.
Sources: EPA Lead Facts | Seattle Times | King County Take It Back Network | NW Product Stewardship | WA Senate Bill 6428
Students Create art and letters to help reduce waste!
• Click here to view art.
What Are Your Neighbors Doing?
• Local Family’s Goal: Zero Waste
When the Peterka family moved from their farm in Carnation back to Shoreline, they decided to bring the farm and their zero-waste strategy with them. They have become role models for neighbors and the Shoreline community as local leaders in urban farming and community gardening.
 The Peterka’s zero waste lifestyle has inspired the City of Shoreline to offer a new service: a 10-gallon monthly garbage pick-up option. How do they do it? Step by step. They replaced their lawn with an urban garden and a chicken coop; they compost their food scraps with a worm bin, and they do not purchase any food that comes in plastic. What they do not grow, they buy from local, year-round farmers markets, and dehydrate and can what they grow and purchase during the summer and fall harvest seasons to eat during the winter and spring. They replaced paper towels with cloth kitchen towels and napkins, and only use reusable mugs, plates, utensils, and shopping bags. If they need something for one time projects, they borrow or rent it and then share with their neighbors. For birthdays and holidays, they make what they give away as gifts. Where do they find the time? They traded TV and computer time for gardening and cooking as a family. Working together, they have built a lifestyle that produces minimal waste! Read the full interview here.
• Local School Holds "No Trash Lunch Day"As a parent and PTA member, Susie O’Donnell wanted to make a difference at her kids’ elementary school. After starting an environmental committee of the Echo Lake Elementary PTA she heard about a project that she thought the teachers and kids could get excited about. For 2009’s Earth Day, she decided that a “No Trash Lunch Day” would be the big event. The prize? The classes which produced the least waste would win an extra recess.
A month before the event, the custodian helped separate the waste from the school’s three lunch periods. All of the bags were brought on stage during a school-wide assembly to show the kids what they created during that day’s lunch. Teachers announced the “No Trash” challenge, Susie sent flyers home to parents, and the Student Council made posters highlighting how kids could reduce waste from their lunches. After the Earth Day lunchtime trash weighed-in, the total student population had succeeded in reducing their trash by 52%! The K-2nd graders won the extra recess, and the event’s success inspired the school to add recycling containers to the lunchroom. Read the full interview here.
 • Holiday Trees Transformed Into Spring Garden Mulch
In response to the Neighborhood Rewards challenge, Eric Hunter-Gale with Green Man Tree Service, LLC decided to help his Madrona neighbors reduce yard waste by offering free chipping events on January 2nd & 9th. Neighbors came and lined with Christmas trees and other woody holiday shrubs, and left with chips for their spring gardens.
• Tell us your Story! What are you doing to reduce waste?
Share Your Winning Idea.
• Send us a tip we have not mentioned for a chance to win a stainless steel countertop container!
Calculate your impact.
• Use the EcoConsumer Waste Calculator.
Remember to Reduce first. Reuse what you can, and then Recycle.
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