On site changes at LSWDD as precautionary measures for Covid-19: Changes to drive up window: -Two Lanes: To reduce person to person contact, we now have two lanes of traffic when you come up the hill. You will now see a sign that says: PAID GARBAGE to the left: this will direct you to the cashier booth so you can pay for your garbage disposal. The same sign directs RECYCLING ONLY to the right lane, where you will bypass the cashier booth and head directly into the recycle plaza to get in and out as quickly as possible. You will be stopped here as we are metering cars, only 9 cars allowed into the recycle plaza at one time. Changes at the cashier booth: -New faces: LSWDD has reduced it’s staff to three teams. So you may see some new faces in the cashier booth depending on when you come. This way if one team gets sick, we have non-contaminated coverage with another two teams. -No Cash, please: We have requested that you NOT pay in cash if you can help it. We prefer checks or credit cards. -6’ distance from Cashier Booth: You may be asked to pull in 6 feet away from the cashier booth, and use a long handled basket to pass payment into the booth. This is to protect our employees and YOU. -No Receipts: We will not be issuing receipts at this time unless requested. This helps reduce in the passing of items back and forth. -Metering cars: If car volumes are higher than we can accommodate parking in a 6 foot spacing between each car, you will be metered into the site. We only have capacity for 9 cars to be recycling at a time. So please, be prepared to be patient, and PRE SORT your recycling at home so you can get in and out QUICKLY. We also recommend coming at lower volume times— which are Fridays and Saturdays. Sunday afternoon is our HIGHEST volume time, and we recommend you avoid coming then if at all possible. Changes to Recycle Plaza Layout for Self Separated Recycling: -No volunteers on site: we will have an employee in the cashier booth and one on the “floor” so please be patient with us if you have questions. We have asked our volunteers to “stay home and stay healthy” per Governors orders. -6 foot space around each tote: You will see two totes in a row for the same material. For example, there will be two identical totes right next to each other to collect #1 plastics, etc). We have done this to reduce the amount of times an employee needs to change the totes during the day. The totes will be clearly marked, and there are no new changes to the materials we currently recycle. -No TIOLI donations: And just a reminder that the TIOLI is closed for the foreseeable future and is not receiving any donations. Thank you for your patience and flexibility during this challenging time.

Take the survey to give your input for the Lopez Island Tool Lending Library (LITLL) here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DWCPDHG

The cost of recycling printers has skyrocketed to roughly $16 a printer, without any guarantee that full recycling of the printer is actually taking place. Rather than pay high fees for a product likely to end up in the landfill, old printers will no longer be accepted as recycling at LSWDD. Printers are unfortunately a “non-program” item that the state’s E-Waste subsidies do not cover. LSWDD is encouraging customers with printers to recycle these by sending them back to the manufacturer or by taking advantage of printer and ink recycling programs at box stores near the I-5 corridor. Customers are encouraged to check out Staples, Office Depot, and Best Buy. Hewlett Packard (HP) takes back nearly all of their products back for free as a part of their consumer buyback and recycle programs. LSWDD tested out HP’s system and found its directions clear and easy. Placing your machine in a box and shipping it off is the best way to recycle your printer for free To Recycle Printers through HP’s “Consumer Buyback and Planet Partners Recycling Program” go to https://hphho.tradeups.com/Customers/51/GetQuote.aspx. Enter your product name and number and a quote will be generated for you. Create a customer profile. In 24 hours, you will be sent a confirmation and a shipping label for to you print to return your HP Product free of charge. On Lopez, you may call FED Ex for a free home pick up: 1.800.463.3339 or https://smallbusiness.fedex.com/manage-pickup.html. Simply put your printer in a shipping box, (available at the Dump!), affix the label and leave it for FED Ex pick up. Once your printer has been received, you will receive a confirmation email. Staples box stores also participate in printer recycling programs and will accept other brands of printers besides HP. The closest Staples is located at 105 Mall Way, Marysville, WA 98270. Currently, Office Depot stores will give you $2 for each printer cartridge you return to their stores up to $20 in store credit. Although this takes a little more effort, recycling this way puts more responsibility on the manufacturers and saves you money.