Waste Prevention
 Reduce
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:
Decorated by Kittitas kindergarteners.
- 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.
Check out these sites for recycled content products:
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.
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.
Composting
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.
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.
You can play an important role in reducing the amount of yard waste that the
County must dispose of and save money too!
Kittitas Solid Waste Programs accepts yard waste at each of the County owned
Transfer Stations at a reduced fee if the yard waste is separated from garbage.
This material is then chipped and offered to the public
at no charge.
Keep it separate; don't contaminate
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.
Yard Waste Fees
|
