Waste Prevention
 Reduce
Decorated by Kittitas kindergarteners.
Waste reduction, or "pre-cycling", is an effort to prevent waste before it is
created. We can help reduce waste by making careful choices about what we
buy, use, and throw away. The following are some pre-cycling tips:
- Look for items with less packaging or items packaged in recycled materials.
- Choose durable rather than disposable products.
- Look for opportunities to reuse items instead of disposing of them.
- Ask for recycled products to help create a demand for recycled materials.
- Buy recycled content materials.
- Use reusable shopping bags.
Recycling in Kittitas County
Each person in Kittitas County discards the equivalent of 5.45 pounds of
waste daily. More than 50% of that waste is reusable or recyclable. The loss of
natural resources, energy and increasing costs of disposal make home source
separating and recycling an important alternative.
In an effort to reduce the large amount of recyclable items (non-liquid,
non-hazardous recyclables) that are presently disposed of at the transfer
stations, Kittitas County offers a wide array of recycling opportunities at
public and private drop-off recycling sites. The following recyclable items are
accepted at each of the Kittitas County Transfer Stations in Cle Elum and
Ellensburg:
- Newspaper
- Cardboard
- Magazines
- Tin cans
- Aluminum cans
- Plastic pop bottles
- Plastic milk jugs
- Glass
Free document shredding
Solid Waste provides residents free confidential shredding of documents. You
may deposit confidential material in the locked container in the Solid Waste
Office. Date Base Secure Records Destruction of Spokane shreds the contents into tiny pieces while
at our site and provides a certificate of destruction. The shredded material is
taken to Spokane where it is recycled into toilet paper and tissue paper.
Composting
Kittitas County Solid Waste Compost Facility
In August 2009 Kittitas County Solid Waste opened our new compost facility.
The facility is located at the Ellensburg Transfer Station 925 Industrial Way.
Yard waste is accepted at each of the County owned Transfer Stations at a
reduced fee if the yard waste is separated from garbage. This material is then
ground up and placed into wind rolls. After heat, moister and microorganism, has
done the job of breaking the organic material into compost, the compost is
screened.
The new compost can be purchased at $60 a ton. It may be helpful to line your
truck bed with a tarp; it helps prevent scratches and makes unloading easier.
Composting is a simple technique that turns organic materials, like yard
debris, into a rich soil conditioner that can be used in yards and gardens. The
process occurs in nature continually as vegetation falls to the ground and
slowly decays. Composting is simply a technique we can use to accelerate this
natural process.
For group tours contact us at 509-962-7542.
Yard Waste Recycling at the Transfer Station
Did you know that 24.3 percent of the total waste stream in Washington State
is made up of organic material? Of that percent, 14 percent is food waste, 31
percent is wood waste, and 49 percent is leaves and grass.
Separate, don't contaminate!
You can play an important role in reducing the amount of yard waste that the
County must dispose of and save money too! Success of the yard waste program depends largely on public cooperation in
providing yard and wood waste that is not contaminated with garbage.
There are many things that contaminate our yard waste pile at the transfer
stations: pop cans, metals, hoses, and the worst... plastic bags, to name a few.
Yard waste littered with plastic and other debris does not make a marketable
product and often causes severe damage to the equipment. Yard waste brought to
the transfer station littered with debris and garbage will be charged the full
garbage rate.
Yard waste bags
Yard waste bags may be purchased at local Ace Hardware stores and Fred Meyer.
They are constructed of heavy duty post-consumer paper designed to take the
place of the plastic bags (which are not acceptable in the transfer station yard
waste disposal piles). These are great bags, easy to use, and support recycling
in a viable way.
Compostable bags
Compostable bags are accepted at our Compost Facility. They can be purchased
locally at Cle Elum Farm and Home, and Knudson Lumber.
For gardening tips visit
http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us/extension/mastergardener.asp.
Curbside Recycling
Curbside recycling is available in a number of different areas throughout
Kittitas County. For more information, contact:
Waste Management, Inc.
607 Railroad
Avenue
Ellensburg
925-9688
Other Recycling Opportunities
For a directory of other recycling opportunities within Kittitas County,
contact the Solid Waste Programs office and
view our Recycling in Kittitas County flyer 40k.
Master Composting Program
Composting is a simple technique that turns organic materials, like yard
debris and food scraps, into a rich soil conditioner that can be used in yards
and gardens. The process occurs in nature continually as vegetation falls to the ground
and slowly decays. Composting is simply a technique we can use to
accelerate this natural process.
Kittitas County offers a free Master Composter Workshop
to groups by appointment.
As a Master Composter, you will receive valuable reference materials and
composting tools, learn about composting methods, including composting with red
worms, and how to maintain your compost. In turn, you will be asked to devote at least 15 hours sharing your new-found
skills with the community, your friends, and acquaintances.
For more information on backyard composting, or on how you can become a
Master Composter, contact the Solid Waste Programs
office.
For compost classes, presentations, or other composting information, call
509-962-7542.
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