leaf letter - spokane county
TRANSCRIPT
It rained the first hour. The
temperatures were on the chilly side. The
only warm thing outside was the
demonstration compost pile built the
previous Tuesday. Despite that, more than
250 visited
Finch
Arboretum
on Oct. 26
and
participated in
the Fall
Compost Fair
and Leaf
Festival. Of
those
attending,
72% had
never been
to a compost fair before and 28% had never
tried composting. 151 Spokane County
households left the event with bins and the
reinforced knowledge of how to reduce
waste in their backyards through home
composting.
The event
would not
have been
possible
without the
dedication of
MC/R
volunteers.
Helping out
that day were
LuWanna
Morris,
Robert
Flowers,
Kathy Schrader, Isaac Curtis, J.P.
Boudreau, Maggie Rowe, Kathleen
Biggest Fall Compost Fair in Years
November 2019 Fall Edition
Leaf Letter
The Newsletter of Spokane County’s
Master Composters/Recyclers
In this issue:
Fall Compost Fair
1
Compost to
Car Parts
2
2020 Recycling
Calendar
2
Auditing Recycling
Trucks
3
Summing up
Composting
4
Check MC/Rs out
on Facebook
Browning, Mary Weigel, Norbert
Leute, Dan Swanson, Kathy Callum,
Erica Dellwo, Jacquelynn Wright, Katy
Manis, John Schuster, Tera Lessard,
Patty Eller, Laren Sunde, Austin
Stewart, and Ken Avery.
Pile Building
Helping build the demonstration pile the
Tuesday before the fair were Austin
Stewart, Kathy Schrader, and
Jacquelynn
Wright.
Despite
scampering for
materials
following snow
and rain storms,
the pile reached
temperatures of
over 140
degrees. Thanks
also to those
who dropped off
rotten apples
and lavender
trimmings. The
pile smelled
divine!
Isaac Curtis and Maggie Rowe try
to stay dry during first hour.
Dan Swanson expounds on the
benefits of compost.
Ken Avery
teaches
about
compost
tea with
home
made
brewer.
Page 2 Leaf Letter
Auto industry researchers have been
brainstorming ways to make car parts
more affordable, durable and eco-friendly.
Among them are researchers at Ohio
State University (OSU) who are testing
natural auto parts made from composted
materials like tomato peels and egg shells.
Katrina Cornish, professor and researcher
at OSU, is leading the university’s
“compost to car” project. Cornish and
her team believe that tomato skins and
eggshells could function as reinforcing
fillers in carbon black. Carbon black is a
crucial component in many rubber-based
car parts, such as tires, hoses,
suspension bushings and motor mounts.
Carbon black is produced by burning
heavy petroleum products.
From BioCycle, Sept/Oct, 2019 Issue
Turning Compost Into Car Parts
2020 Spokane Recycles Calendar Available Soon
Regional Solid Waste System (SCRSWS)
and is part of America Recycles Day
activities that took place across the
country through November 15. This
year marked the 20th anniversary of this
popular contest in Spokane County.
Thirty two grade level finalists were
recognized at the November 12 meeting
of the Board of County Commissioners.
There, 17 of those finalists heard that
their artwork was selected to
appear in the 2020 “Spokane
County Recycles” calendar. A
limited number of calendars will
be available free of charge from
the City of Spokane Solid Waste
Disposal Dept. administration
office, 625-6580, beginning in late
December. Call or email,
[email protected] if you
would like to receive one.
235 children from 20 schools in Spokane
County created hand-drawn posters for
entry in the “America Recycles Day”
poster contest. Their work, created to
help raise recycling awareness in Spokane
County, was based on the theme, “Let’s
Recycle Right!” The annual
competition, open to students in
kindergarten through grade 8, is
sponsored by the Spokane County
Recycling
Humor
Because we all
need to laugh!
I used to work in a
recycling plant
crushing cans. I
had to quit, it was
soda pressing.
I’m trying to start a
chewing gum
recycling company.
I just need to get it
off the ground.
Page 3 Fall Edition
Composting
Humor
Because we are
nothing if not
balanced.
I refuse to work
with compost. It
is degrading.
Someone keeps
dumping compost
on my garden. I
don’t know who is
doing it; the plot
thickens!
Winter does not
arrive until the ice
is IN the
compost pile!
We know that contamination in single
stream recycling programs like Spokane’s
is on the rise. But, just how is that
measured and how can the worst
contaminates be identified? To help the
Spokane Solid Waste Department with
those answers, they teamed up with the
Waste Management SMaRT Center to
study recent truck audit results.
How is a recycling truck audited to
see what is in the load? Here are the
steps taken to quantify what should and
should not be placed in the blue curbside
carts.
Step #1—weigh the in-bound truck
Step # 2 — empty truck’s load on
cleared floor of SMaRT Center
Step #3—take a 200 lb. sample to sort.
Step #4—separate everything by type of
material
Step #5 weigh and record
Results of over a dozen audits this
past year of City of Spokane trucks
reinforce what was already suspected.
The worst contaminates continue to be
plastic bags and other items that tangle
the sorting equipment. Equally as
concerning, though, are items that prove
hazardous to those collecting and sorting
this material. Examples include bear
spray, batteries, used syringes, and bags
of human waste.
A campaign targeting the need to
recycle correctly will be kicked off soon
in the hopes of educating the public and
improving the quality of local recycling.
Check with your own hauler on what is
acceptable where you live.
Please, know before you throw!
Auditing Recycling Trucks
2900 S. Geiger Blvd. Spokane, WA 99224
Phone: 509-625-6580
Recycling Information: 509-477-6800
E-mail:
SCIENCE NIGHTS
Otis Orchards Elem.
Thurs., Jan. 30
6 to 8 p.m.
Holmes Elem.
Thurs., Feb. 6
6 to 7:30 p.m.
Evergreen Elem.
Mon., Mar. 16
6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Trentwood Elem.
Thur., Mar. 26
5 to 7 p.m.
Spokane Master Composters/Recyclers
We are on the web! spokanecountysolidwaste.org
The Leaf Letter is a
publication of the
Spokane County Regional
Solid Waste System
(SCRSWS) with partial
funding provided by a
grant from the
Washington State
Department of Ecology.
Editor: Kris Major
Calendar of Upcoming Events (Sign up on the Google Calendar)
Words no
longer are the
preferred way
to convey
complicated
messages to
the public.
Gone are the
days of poring
over hundred-
page reports
and wading
through
graphs and
charts.
In their
place are info
graphics like
this one
produced for
King County.
A commit-
ment to
manage
organic waste
is summarized
in one
illustration.
What do you
think?
When printed, it is on recycled/
recyclable paper.
Summing up Composting
2020 MC/R Classes Begin
WSU Extension
5:30 to 8 p.m.
Home and Garden Show
Spokane Convention Center
April 3-5
Pile Building at Finch Arboretum
Tue., Apr. 21
1 p.m.
Spring Compost Fair at Finch
Sat., Apr. 25
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Page 4