Volunteer Opportunities
In 2018, Bainbridge Island Zero Waste volunteers received the Nonprofit of the Year award from the Washington State Recycling Association. Our work depends on your help. Please read on to find out how you can become involved in our efforts. If you have questions and/or are interested in anything you see below or something not listed that you might want to initiate, contact Zero Waste director Diane Landry.
Zero Waste Meetings – We hold bi-monthly meetings in person at the Marge Williams Center, 221 Winslow Way West, from 5-6:30. There is also a Zoom option. Check the ZW front page under events to find out when the next meeting is. If you deal with waste reduction in a unique way and would like to be considered as a speaker at one of our meetings, or if you have a speaker or topic you would like to suggest for a meeting, please contact Diane Landry. The general format of the meetings is 5-5:30>ZW business, 5:30-6>speaker, 6-6:30>members’ questions and/or their show&tell on waste reduction and recycling.
Bainbridge Island Farmers’ Market Booth – Once a month, April-October (except in July), 10am-2pm, Zero Waste sets up an information booth. Watch the events calendar for which Saturday we are present. Each month is generally focused on a different theme (e.g, clothing, kitchen/bath reuse, plastic). If you would like to engage people in conversation related to the theme, learn more for yourself, or just talk about zero waste, and have an hour or two to hang out at the booth, please email us.
Discard Station Ambassador – Help festival guests decide in which container (recycling, compost or landfill) to toss their discards.
On July 4th, we set up and manage 11 discard stations (recycling – compost – landfill) throughout the downtown area and continuously staff them from 7am-5pm. Volunteers select a station for a two-hour shift and stay there to make sure people throw their discards in the right spot. We need close to 50 volunteers. Please email us to help.
There may be other community festivals where Zero Waste is helping to staff discard stations with volunteers. Watch the Zero Waste front page highlights section for those opportunities.
Rotary Recycling Green Team (GT) – This is not under the Zero Waste purview, but many of the Rotary GT recycling volunteers are also Zero Waste volunteers. Held sometime between the end of June and the first two weeks of July, the Rotary Rummage Sale and Auction includes a multi-day donation period, a prep day, Preview Night, and Sale Day. You choose your hours (8am-8pm) to push a shopping cart through the halls and around the grounds of Woodward Middle School checking on discard stations and finding treasures for the Lawn of Opportunity. Try it for a couple hours and you’ll be hooked! Plus, after so many volunteer hours, you can buy from departments ahead of the sale. Email us to help.