WINTER CALENDAR

 March 11 - ZW meeting, Wednesday, 7-8:30, at the Marge Williams Center, 221 Winslow Way West. Special guest: Pat Kaufman, Seattle Public Utilities Recycling and Composting Program Manager.
March 14 - BI Barter Fair, Saturday, 1:00, at Winslow Cohousing, 335 Wallace Way

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Efforts are underway to establish a Library of Things on Bainbridge Island. 
If you are interested in becoming actively involved in building a Library of Things on Bainbridge, please attend one of two meetings: 
Tuesday, February 4, 9:30-11 am or Thursday, February 6, 6:30-8 pm at the Marge Williams Center meeting room
Individuals will have an opportunity to join subcommittees.  For questions or inquiries, please email Gilian Engelson at  .

The goal of the Library of Things is to act as an accessible repository of shared goods for the community to borrow. A recent BI Facebook survey showed that over 92% believed a Library of Things would be a valuable resource, with home and garden tools, recreational equipment, entertainment items, kitchenware and toys being the top five categories of items that residents would want to borrow. 

There are well over 300 tool libraries and libraries of things in the world. Community resources and activities on Bainbridge like Zero Waste's Tableware Lending Library, BI Parks and Recreation Gearbank, the Rotary Auction, and Helpline House's medical equipment lending library are all amazing and well loved examples of our community's penchant to share, reuse, and offer affordable access to goods. 
 
To find out more, go to the Library of Things web page.
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The Fix-it Fair is coming! The Fix-it Fair is coming!

The Senior Center will play host to Bainbridge's first Fix-it Fair on Sunday, April 19, 2-5pm. If you are interested in being a fixer, please contact Gilian Engelson at  .

A Fix-it Fair is a community event where people can get household items repaired for free by skilled fixers.  Fixable Items depend on the fixer teams' skill sets.  Most often, items that can be repaired include small appliances, lamps, furniture, clothing, small electronics, computers, bicycles, jewelry, and toys. Fixers bring their own tools and the organizers provide common consumable supplies.

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                                 Cut down on single-use disposables.
These establishments give you a discount on coffee when using your own mug:
Washington State Ferries - Save $1.21
Rolling Bay Cafe - Save $.25
Let us know who else incentivizes you and what the savings are at .

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This counter represents the number of beverage cans and bottles that have been landfilled, littered and incinerated in the US so far this year.

        ALUMINUM CANS are arguably the best material to recycle:

• It takes only 5% of the energy to make a new can from recycled aluminum as it does to make the can from virgin aluminum (other materials take 40-70% as much energy).
• It is made back into the same item that was recycled (not "downcycled" into a different, one-and-done product).
• It is endlessly recyclable (like steel and glass; unlike paper and plastic).
  FUN FACT -  75 percent of all aluminum produced (not just from cans) is still in circulation.
  
• It takes only two months to go from your recycling bin back onto the store shelf!                            
  

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PLASTIC - The bane and boon of our existence.
Want to encourage more responsible plastic use? Come to Washington State's Environmental Lobby Day on January 30.  Follow the legislative progress on Zero Waste Washington's website.

In May 2019, Governor Jay Inslee signed into law SB 5397, which initiates a study for the management of plastic packaging in Washington State through product stewardship, industry-led initiatives and other options. Watch this short video that briefly delves into the reasons for having extended producer responsibility (EPR) on plastics.


Washington state currently has EPR programs for the following products:

• TVs and computers (E-cycle -- WA was first in the nation!)
• Prescription medicines
• Solar panels
• Mercury lights
• Paint (starting in late 2020)

Why product stewardship by the companies producing barely recycled plastic? Because individuals' actions are a drop-in-the-bucket compared to what an ever-growing plastics industry (which creates the material/problems) can accomplish. Listen to this story for a more comprehensive look. 

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