Repairing a broken item, instead of throwing it away and replacing it, reduces the need for a new item and saves the energy, water, and natural resources that would have been needed to manufacture and ship it. Because repair lets…
Many of us are familiar with three carts for our waste – one for trash, recycling, and food + yard composting. We’ve had these carts for many years in Kirkland, and many people do a great job of separating food…
Everything that you dispose of, whether an apple peel in the compost or a candy wrapper in the trash, represents a combination of energy, water, and materials that went into growing or manufacturing and shipping that item. When you throw…
Prevent all the waste you can, and throw away items as the last choice We can reduce the impact that our waste makes on the planet by following the waste hierarchy. The waste hierarchy prioritizes how we should handle our…
Celebrating Earth Month City-Wide Kirkland coordinated Earth Month in April 2018, a celebration of all things environmental. The month included a green cleaning class, Styrofoam recycling event, natural yard care workshops, a recycling center tour, and more than a dozen…
Junk mail fills our mailboxes — 2 pieces a day on average in 2012 — and it can feel nigh impossible to staunch the flow. Sightline published an expose on junk mail in 2016, after a staff member spent years…
It starts out easy – day one, get rid of one item. Finding one thing in your house to get rid of is really not much of a challenge. By the end of the month, you might be feeling differently….
I used to diligently plan my meals each week, but I fell out of the habit about five years ago. I felt like I’d developed a good repertoire of recipes I could prepare from the pantry and fridge — but…
Some of you may have heard rumors that some of the recyclable materials you put in your recycling cart or dumpster are being thrown away. This is, fortunately, not true in Kirkland. So where did the rumor come from? China…
For some, 2017 was a trying, tumultuous, and odd year to say the least. We all experienced a new administration in Washington, DC; horrific shootings in Texas and Las Vegas; devastating hurricanes in Florida and Texas; a disturbing trend in…