Hi, Lopez! Lopez Solid Waste wants to know more about the current state of food waste on Lopez Island. How much of your food scraps are you throwing in the garbage? Do you compost at home? If no, why not? If yes, how's it going? To help us plan more relevant resources, communications, and educational opportunities, please take a moment to fill out this quick, five-question survey . Your answers are really valuable to us, whether or not you compost food scraps! If you have trouble accessing the survey or want to share something with us that isn't represented in the survey questions, please feel free to reach out to sarahr@lopezsolidwaste.org . Thank you! TAKE THE SURVEY

On February 8, Lopez residents bundled up for a brief but informative backyard compost class! Two Lopez Solid Waste team members and Master Composters shared some compost basics, and participants discussed several different home composting solutions before receiving a more in-depth demonstration of steel can composters — an affordable and rat-resistant option for reducing food waste at home. Organic Waste on Lopez Lopez residents can dispose of yard and wood waste — NO food waste or noxious weeds — at Midnight's Farm. Sign up & review requirements here: https://www.midnightsfarm.com/dropoff-guidelines . Residents can dispose of many noxious weeds for free at the Lopez Dump, up to a certain volume. Learn more about this program here: https://www.lopezsolidwaste.org/litter-noxious-weeds .  Home gardeners can reduce garden waste by sharing excess produce with neighbors. You can also share produce more broadly through several programs, including Grow-A-Row  (Locavores) & the Food Share  (LIFRC). Lots of residents also compost food waste at home!  Why compost at home?  Save money! If you compost organic waste at home, you don’t have to pay to dispose of it with your regular garbage.  Reduce waste & greenhouse gas emissions. When organic materials decompose anaerobically in a landfill, they produce high volumes of methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas. Composting can also sequester carbon dioxide, keeping it in the soil instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.  Produce a rich soil amendment for your garden!  Compost improves soil health — structure, nutrient retention, and pH moderation. Compost can help protect against plant diseases & invite beneficial organisms.  The Compost Ecosystem Inside of a healthy compost pile, we find a whole ecosystem of composters. To create a healthy compost ecosystem, an ideal carbon-to-nitrogen ratio is 30:1  — 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen (30:1 C:N). Below are some common organic wastes and their typical C:N ratios. CARBON-RICH MATERIALS (“Browns”) NITROGEN-RICH MATERIALS (“Greens”) Small twigs, woody prunings, & dead leaves (40-80:1) Green plant trimmings (15-22:1) Dry plant materials, corn cobs (50-60:1) Fresh leaves & flowers (15-22:1) Sawdust & wood shavings (from untreated wood) (500-640:1) Grass clippings (17:1) Pine needles (100:1) Fruit & vegetable scraps (12-19:1) Straw & hay (80:1) Coffee grounds & tea bags (20:1) Nut shells (50:1) Hamster/guinea pig droppings (14:1) Food-soiled paper (150:1) Cornstarch- & other plant-based packing materials (25-34:1) DO NOT put these materials in your backyard composter:  Diseased plants or plants covered in organisms that you don’t want in your garden Noxious weeds Weeds with seeds Plants that are poisonous to humans or animals Ash from charcoal or coal Meat, fish, or dairy Dog, cat, or bird droppings (chicken droppings OK — let cure for ~60 days before using in your garden!) Your compost pile also needs moisture & oxygen . Aim for a moisture level similar to a wrung-out sponge, and create air pockets for your compost ecosystem by adding bulking agents and/or turning or mixing your pile.   Hot & Cold Piles Within a compost pile, heat is generated by microorganisms hard at work, and lost through conduction, convection, and radiation. Heat moves from the center of the pile outward.  A “hot pile” is classified as a pile that reaches 120°–180° F, which kills pathogens and weed seeds. This can produce finished (“stabilized”) compost in as little as six weeks. A “cold pile” tends to take longer to produce finished compost, but requires less maintenance.  When is it done? Finished compost is dark and crumbly, similar to top soil. It’s most important to let the nitrogen-rich materials finish decomposing — working undecomposed or partially decomposed food scraps into your garden if they’re still hot, slimy, or stinky can attract pests and harm young plants.  Tips & Troubleshooting Cut up your materials before adding them to the pile — smaller particle size increases the availability of carbon and nitrogen.  Is your compost too wet?   Add more oxygen! Mix your compost and try introducing bulking agents, or large pieces of material, to create air gaps in your pile.  Adding more carbon-rich materials can also soak up extra moisture.  Is your compost too dry? Add more greens, or nitrogen-rich materials, plus some water when you do. Prevent compost piles from drying out by covering them — lids with secure bungees on steel can composters work great.  Worried about rats or raccoons?  Exclude rodent-attracting materials from your compost piles.  Use rodent-resistant composters, like steel can composters.   Does your compost smell like rotten eggs? It’s likely too wet and doesn’t have enough air. Add carbon-rich browns and turn your pile frequently or add bulking agents.  Does your compost smell like ammonia? It probably has too many nitrogen-rich greens — add more carbon-rich browns!  Rodent-Resistant Composting Systems Worm Composting (Vermicomposting) Here are some great resources from WSU Whatcom: https://extension.wsu.edu/whatcom/hg/worm-composting/ .  Food Digesters Green Cone is a popular product that’s easy to use and works similarly to a steel can composter. They tend to break food down quicker, but cost about $200 each: http://www.greenconeusa.com/green-cone-solar-food-waste-digester.html . On Orcas, The Exchange has led some home composting workshops for residents using the FreeGarden Earth compost bin, which is available for purchase at Home Depot or online for ~$116 each: https://exchangeorcas.org/more-home-composting-success/ .  Homemade Steel Can Composters There are many DIY methods to transforming a steel can into a backyard composter—take just a few minutes to poke around on YouTube, and you'll find many versions and helpful tutorials! How you do it might depend on where you live, what type of soil you have, what you're putting in it, and what kinds of creatures you're hoping to keep out of (or let into) your compost. Your steel can composter might work similarly to a food digester, or more like a worm bin. Below are some general (and customizable) guidelines for getting started! Drill many holes in the bottom and sides of your steel can, using proper safety equipment and clean-up of metal scraps. Partially bury your can in well-draining soil. Keep a secure lid and consider adding a bungee cord to keep out rats and raccoons. Start adding your food waste! The carbon & nitrogen ratio guidelines above will help you understand what ingredients make a healthy compost ecosystem. This system will take 6-12 months to produce "finished" compost. Once your bin is full, you can try several things: If it's had enough time, mine finished compost from the bottom of your bin. Stab and stir your compost pile with a spade shovel to introduce oxygen and create more space. Install another steel can composter and begin to fill that one while the first composts. Questions? Reach out to our Community Outreach Coordinator & Master Composter: sarahr@lopezsolidwaste.org .

If you haven't yet heard, tiny plastic pellets called "nurdles" are washing up in large volumes on some beaches in the San Juan Islands. Nurdles are the raw materials used to manufacture most plastic products, and end in up our oceans due to shipping spills, leaks, and drainage from factories. These pellets are usually less than 5mm, and sometimes as small and flat as lentils, which makes them very difficult to spot — and very easy for marine wildlife to consume. As part of the Plastic-Free Salish Sea coalition, Lopez Solid Waste wants to learn more about where Lopezians are finding nurdles, particularly on public beaches. With better information, we can focus our clean-up efforts during our Great Islands Clean-Up events, and beyond, with a new focus on this prevalent and dangerous type of plastic pollution. Next time you're on a beach walk, take a closer look at the sand around you — nurdles are hard to spot, unless you know what to look for. Here's a photo from a beach clean-up on San Juan Island in October: If you find nurdles, let Lopez Solid Waste know — email sarahr@lopezsolidwaste.org . Please remember to wear gloves when picking them up! Then, you can bring them to the Dump for FREE disposal. Residents can dispose of any litter collected in public places for free at the Dump — learn more at www.lopezsolidwaste.org/litter-noxious-weeds .

Join Lopez Solid Waste on Saturday, February 8 , from 2 to 4 p.m ., for a free backyard composting workshop. Participants will: Learn composting basics for reducing food waste. Learn to build & use steel can composters — one free composter per participant! Connect with other folks on Lopez who are composting! Steel can composters are a popular, affordable, and rat-proof option for composting food waste. The workshop will be facilitated by two Master Composters at a location close to the village. Bring questions! REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Space is limited. Register by emailing sarahr@lopezsolidwaste.org .

Last month, in a big win for efficiency and safety at the Lopez Dump, Facility Manager Colby White and District Manager Ric Carr facilitated the purchase of a long-awaited backhoe to replace aging equipment on-site.  “The old backhoe needed more and more repairs,” said Colby, who located the new (to us) machine in Colville, Washington. The search had been extensive for a machine that met both the organization’s needs and its budget. “The new backhoe has more power, packs containers more efficiently, and will save LSWDD money in the long-run.”  “Whereas we all feel we should respect our elders, replacement parts can only prolong life so far,” noted Gene Helfman, LSWDD board member and Recycle Dog.  The team depends on the backhoe to compress garbage into containers, allowing LSWDD to dispose of as much garbage as possible during each trip off-island. This minimizes both the cost and the environmental impact of hauling our community's waste. After some maintenance in Burlington, the new backhoe was ready to get to work. Huge thanks to David Zapalac for inspecting the machine and delivering it to the site! And the news just gets better! Shortly after the backhoe purchase was complete, the Solid Waste Alternatives Program (SWAP) board voted to support the Dump in a big way, making a donation to LSWDD that covered nearly the full cost of the backhoe and necessary maintenance. If you don’t know about them already, SWAP is the organization who put together this summer’s unforgettable Trashion Fashion event. Trashion Fashion raised thousands of dollars in support of community-led waste disposal and zero-waste efforts on Lopez! “LSWDD offers its profound thanks to SWAP and the Lopez community for this generous donation,” said Ric.  Learn more about SWAP here !

Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District (LSWDD) is a truly community-led endeavor, and requires dependable and recurring support from several sources to maintain current services, including free recycling and Take It Or Leave It (TIOLI). Our sources of support include garbage disposal fees, volunteer hours, donations, and our annual levy. Washington State authorizes disposal districts to seek levy funding only one year at a time, which means LSWDD must pass a levy each year to secure funding for the following year. How much do property owners pay? The proposed 2025 levy rate is about $0.094 per $1,000 of taxable assessed property value. So, if your property's taxable assessed value is $600,000, you will contribute about $56.40 over the entire year to help sustain the Lopez Dump. Taxable Property Value $300,000 $600,000 $1,000,000 Estimated Total Contribution $28.20 $56.40 $94.00 How does this levy compare to previous years? Historically, levy revenue has remained the same, despite significant increases in operating costs. In 2014, a levy of $105,000 supported about 40% of LSWDD's operating expenses. In 2023, that same amount covered only 19% of expenses. The LSWDD board determined that in 2025, a $210,000 levy is needed to sustain services and make essential improvements. This levy amount is required to: Repair and replace critical equipment. The Dump's garbage truck, excavator, and forklift are in urgent need of replacement. Cover significant increases in transportation and disposal costs. This year, the rate LSWDD pays to dispose of our community's garbage is increasing from $111 to $138 per ton — a 24% increase. Within five years, the rate will increase to nearly 30%. Rising fuel and ferry costs also add to LSWDD's growing expenses. Maintain sufficient staff. In order to safely and efficiently operate the Dump and sustain services like free recycling and TIOLI, LSWDD must maintain sufficient staff by offering sustainable wages and benefits. Prepare for uncertain circumstances following LSWDD's interlocal agreement renewal with San Juan County in 2025, which could include new lease payments and capital improvements. What if the levy fails? If the levy doesn't pass, LSWDD will have to operate on about 67% of the funding that's needed to sustain current services. Difficult options to address such a large drop in revenue would include drastically reduced services (including recycling and TIOLI), elimination of free recycling, and significant increases to garbage disposal fees. If you have any questions about the levy, please reach out to sarahr@lopezsolidwaste.org !

This month, two of Lopez Solid Waste's board members took a field trip to Burlington to visit Skagit River Steel & Recycling — the facility that processes a majority of our community's recyclables. Gene Helfman and John Trench, who are both dedicated recycling volunteers at the Dump, met with Skagit River Steel's General Manager Todd Reynolds, who gave them a full tour while they asked lots of questions about where our garbage really goes. "The result of [our] meticulous parceling of waste is gratifying. Skagit River Steel recycles over 99% by weight of deposited materials, less than 1% eventually entering the waste stream!" Gene reported. "Reynolds was very complimentary of Lopez efforts at recycling, emphasizing that deliveries from Lopez are exceptionally free of contamination." Read their full report, published this week in Islands' Weekly: " Where does it go when it goes 'away.' "

If you're at the Dump this weekend and spot Facility Manager Justin Hagge scurrying about, take a moment to thank him for his many contributions to Lopez Solid Waste! Next week, Justin will be leaving his position at LSWDD to join Lopez Fire & EMS full-time. While we're sad to see him go, we know he'll be right down the street — and we're very grateful for his continued commitment to the Lopez community. "The song that best fits Justin is the Beach Boys' 'I Get Around'—he's constantly on the move, making sure all is operating smoothly and helping volunteers with whatever we need," said John Trench, an LSWDD board member who volunteers on-site every weekend. "My volunteer shift is always fun, but Justin made it even better. He's always smiling, welcoming and enthusiastic. If I had recycling question, he had the answer and more." After Justin's departure, we're excited to welcome Operations Assistant Sean Nolan as our new Facility Manager. Sean does a lot for the Dump, from the booth and behind the scenes, and it'll be great to have him at the helm! If you have any questions about this transition, don't hesitate to reach out. If you want to get involved at the Dump, we have lots of volunteer opportunities! Email Sarah Reeves, Volunteer Coordinator, at sarahdr@lopezsolidwaste.org.

"It really takes all of us, working together, to make this facility function as well as it does." The Lopez Dump is a community effort in every sense of the word: island residents own and operate the Dump, volunteer at the Dump, and directly benefit from its services and programs. And for many Lopezians, it's much more than waste management — it's also a hub for connection and camaraderie. Each person plays a part in making the Dump what it is. Two of the most impactful things we do are: We sort our recycling! When we recycle, we not only save money by paying less for our garbage, but we also reduce what we send to the landfill and help LSWDD offer the lowest garbage rates in the county. We volunteer! LSWDD volunteers have a significant and tangible impact. They: Help customers sort their recycling, fostering community connection and preventing contamination so that LSWDD staff can actually recycle many of our plastics, paper, and metal! Sort donations at TIOLI, which helps maintain this cherished island space and keeps reusable items like clothes, appliances, tools, and furniture out of the landfill. Disassemble appliances and other metal recycling, allowing the Dump to generate more revenue from recycled materials (and keep offering free services). This is the handiwork of the famous Recycle Dogs! To learn more and start volunteering at the Dump, email Sarah Reeves, LSWDD Volunteer Coordinator, at sarahr@lopezsolidwaste.org. Spotlight: Meet the Recycle Dogs "The Recycle Dogs deconstruct and organize scrap metal and appliances, breaking it down into smaller components worth much more than when it was first discarded," explains John Trench, LSWDD board member and dedicated Recycle Dog. The crew meets every other week and gets a lot done while having a lot of fun. "LSWDD could recycle metal items in bulk, but by separating out valuable components such as copper, zinc, brass, stainless steel, lead, and aluminum, the Recycle Dogs greatly increase the value of materials discarded. Last year, they helped the Dump generate 20 times the revenue of recycling metals in bulk!" Thank you, Recycle Dogs, for your commitment to our community! Video: Meet the Recycle Dogs

Got paint? Don't let unused paint clutter up your garage — or become a hazard! You can bring reusable paint to the Dump for recycling every Sunday. For FREE! Lopez Solid Waste (the Lopez Dump) is an official PaintCare drop-off facility, accepting up to ten gallons of latex and oil-based house paints, primers, and stains per customer, Sundays only. Paints have to be reusable — no dried paints will be accepted. Containers must: be 5-gallon or smaller. have their original labels. have secure lids that prevent leaks and spills. To learn more about the PaintCare program on Lopez, visit lopezsolidwaste.org/paint-care.

At approximately 2:00 p.m. on March 22, 2024, staff noticed a plume of smoke coming from one of the large garbage containers at Lopez Solid Waste (“the dump”). Staff promptly evacuated all customers from the site, moved quickly away from the container and called Lopez Fire & EMS. “Any fire in a dumpster needs to be considered a potential hazmat situation,” said Justin Hagge, LSWDD Facility Manager. “We will always evacuate in this instance and take every precaution to ensure the site is cleared.” Lopez Fire & EMS arrived promptly on-site with two engines and an incident command vehicle. Responders observed only smoldering materials in the container and no open flames. They notified neighbors of the incident and closed a section of Fisherman Bay Road in proximity to Lopez Solid Waste, routing traffic away from the site. Because this was a small fire with minimal spread, the incident commander did not evacuate neighboring homes. Staff who had been in proximity to the container were evaluated and cleared by Lopez EMS. Lopez Fire removed a number of items from the container and identified a metal can filled with an unknown substance as a potential source of the fire. The can’s contents could have been ignited by a spark after the garbage was compressed. Other hazardous materials found in the container included fertilizer, pesticides, and cleaning materials. To avoid potential run-off, no water was used during the incident response. By 4:00 p.m. on March 22, the site was deemed safe and released by Lopez Fire & EMS back to LSWDD staff. The container was left open overnight and monitored by LSWDD and Lopez Fire. LSWDD staff consulted CHEMTREC and The Washington State Department of Ecology and are currently awaiting further information before safely removing materials from the container. The container will be closed until remaining materials can be safely removed. The dump is safe and open for regular operating hours: Friday through Monday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. LSWDD will continue to update the Lopez Island community as more information becomes available. Important Reminder: Do not dispose of hazardous waste at the dump EXCEPT during LSWDD's annual Household Hazardous Waste Roundup. Household hazardous waste includes pesticides, fungicides and other poisons; gasoline and other used fuels; wood preservatives; solvents and thinners; pool and photo chemicals; resins; corrosives; degreasers; cleaning products; mercury; rechargeable batteries; propane cylinders; and aerosols. Qualifying paint products can be dropped off for reuse or recycling on Sundays only. This year, the Household Hazardous Waste Roundup will take place on May 11, 2024, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.