Olympia's 'zero waste' plan advances
Advisers will spend a year plotting how to cut garbage, boost recycling
OLYMPIA - It's official: The capital city wants to recycle or reuse everything possible under a new vision that could affect the way people recycle and how much packaging they buy.
The City Council passed a "zero waste" resolution this week so everything used or sold in Olympia can be - and is - reused or recycled. The resolution sets no deadline.
"We talked about 20 years, 25 years, 30 years. How quickly can you implement programs, and how much are people willing to pay and save? Until we see that, it's hard to pin down when," Councilman Joe Hyer said. "We didn't want to just throw a dart at the dartboard."
Instead, officials and a citizens advisory committee will spend one year on an action plan. It would blend financial incentives with programs that make it easier to recycle. It would lay out how the initiatives would be funded.
The earliest any change to garbage/recycling rates would occur is 2008. Other changes could happen earlier. For example, recycling containers could be placed in apartment complexes that don't already have them, Hyer said.
Residents recycle 53 percent of their garbage, up from 41 percent in 1995, said Ron Jones, who heads the recycling program. People are recycling more, but they also are producing more trash. Residential waste went up 16 percent in the same period.
Countywide, waste generation climbs faster than population. The number of county residents increased 18 percent from 1995 to 2005, while the amount of trash shot up 51.3 percent.
If residents don't curb their trash, officials might have to open another waste and recovery center. The Hawks Prairie Waste and Recovery Center recently altered its truck schedule to extend capacity by five years.
In Olympia, ideas for reaching zero waste include having a recycling bin where there's a garbage can. Builders would have incentives, such as rebates on permit fees, to recycle construction materials. There could even be a food composting program.
At Plenty restaurant, owner Jim Butigan said he recycles containers but ends up tossing food scraps from preparing meals or what people leave on their plates into the trash. It would be better - and cheaper - if there were a composting system, he said.
Ramada Inn Governor House is willing to serve as a pilot for having recycling bins in hotel rooms, General Manager Sandra Miller said. The hotel already lets guests opt not to have bedding and towels washed daily to conserve water and reduce chemicals in the drain.
"A lot of people do it," Miller said. Recycling bins "would complement that. It's quite common on the residential side, and I think people would be open to looking at recycling on the business side if it's convenient and not costly."
This article is republished courtesy of The Olympian:
Olympia's 'zero waste' plan advances
