Volunteer Opportunities
In 2018, Zero Waste Bainbridge Island 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, please contact Zero Waste director Diane Landry.
Tableware Lending Library
The Lending Library serves 270 individual and organizational events a year. We need more librarians! At first, you may volunteer “behind-the-scenes,” helping with inventory and assembling/putting back items for orders. Then, as you get familiar with the library and its operation, you may move into a “front-facing” role of librarian, filling in email orders and arranging times to meet borrowers. Currently we have only three “front-facing” librarians and hope to groom others. Handy attributes for helping and possibly becoming a librarian:
- attention to detail
- free time and flexibility
- enthusiasm for reuse and supporting community events to happen in a greener way
Metal Sorting
Show up at the BI Senior & Community Center any 2nd or 4th Saturday from 11-noon to sort with a magnet the aluminum and steel odds and ends that people have dropped off for recycling. Questions? Contact Barbara Ochota.
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.
Other events at which Zero Waste helps with discard stations:
Mochi Tsuki (early January)
Chilly Hilly (late February)
Earth Expo (late April)
Pride Fest (late June)
National Night Out (early August)
Rotary Recycling Green Team
This is not under the Zero Waste purview, but many of the Rotary Green Team recycling volunteers are also Zero Waste volunteers. Held sometime between the end of June and the first two weeks of July (in 2026 it is July 5- July 11), 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.