Inspir'Action Book Club

During the meeting, our conversation migrated beyond these three basic steps, where we explored the benefits of composting food scraps. Just taking a small moment to honor the nature around us, we see that birds, squirrels, deer and insects do not eat every edible berry, fruit, nut and leaf. Excess is part of nature, and it simply returns to the soil through the decomposition cycle. For me, I occasionally enjoy minimizing food waste by using carrot, celery and onion scraps to make chicken or vegetable stock. I might home compost coffee ground or a few veggie and fruit scraps.

However, I mostly rely on the green organics bin for Waste Management to deliver to our local professional composting facility, Skagit Soils. Meat, fish, shells and bones can also be added because industrial composters have the set-up to reach the temperatures required to completely decompose difficult food wastes. And those nutrients will now be returned to nearby local soils through the distribution of compost-containing soil products. This cycle happens right here in Skagit County promoting the longevity of our soil
health.

Healthy soil produces healthy food, reduces water runoff, reduces or eliminates herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides, sequesters carbon, and in turn protects water quality and life in and
around the Salish Sea. Investing in our soil is investing in our future generations!

After completing our compost and soil discussion, the group acknowledged how much less
landfill trash we all generate once we placed the allowable items in the blue recycle bin and food scraps in the green organics bin. And as for recyclables, it can be frustrating to track the
changing rules, or we might even be skeptical of what is happening to it all.

Answers are coming our way soon given that May 2025 marks the signing of the Washington State Recycling Reform. Regardless, if we are “perfect” recyclers, there remains a lot of plastic that is not permitted in the blue bin. And most of it is from food packaging. Fresh, frozen, organic or processed foods – it’s mostly packaged in plastic, unless you are a dedicated Anacortes Farmer’s Market shopper, subscribe to other local markets, CSAs or farm stands or grow your own food.

And this is when a member shared her experience with Ridwell, a door-front recycling service that accepts a long list of items that are not otherwise allowed in the curbside blue bin. Ridwell subscribers see a drastic difference in the volume of trash going to the landfill and often generate only a small bag of trash per week. A life toward Zero Waste seemed impossible or even absurd twenty years ago. But today we are starting to see a circular economy forming through the years of dedication by people
committed to making a difference in this world.

Ridwell is one example, where investments in local partnerships (Trex, Recology, Merlin, Hydroblox, First Star, and Styro Recycle and many more) are resulting in measurable reductions in plastics and other materials heading to the landfill. Ridwell accepts thin film, multi-layered plastic, clamshells, Styrofoam, plastic caps, bread ties, electronics, batteries, lightbulbs, towels or clothing unsuitable for donating, and so much more. Check out their website to see their long list of accepted items.

And for those other items you no longer need, remember to reference the Friends of the Salish Sea Beyond the Bin Brochure that connects your unwanted items into the community. You can
also post on a Buy-Nothing site. With so much talk about recycling plastic, wouldn’t it just be better to not make it in the first place? Each day we continue to become aware of new problems where plastics are harming the Earth, and that includes us, our food, our water, our soil, our bodies and even our brains.

These problems require our attention if we are to have any hope of stopping the harm. Each day I try to remind myself that small changes matter. When I choose to minimize food waste, recycle,
compost and support those who are dedicated to creating a circular economy, I am part of that system that is creating empty grey trash bins and shrinking the volume of trash to the landfill. Small changes lead to significant outcomes, eventually!