You might not know about some of the ways the City of Kirkland is working to reduce climate emissions both at the City and in the Kirkland community. As a founding member city of the King County – Cities Climate…
In the northwest, and here in Kirkland, we’re pretty into recycling. The City consistently has one of the highest single family recycling rates in King County. We have higher recycling rates than many parts of the country, and work hard…
For good or for bad, technology has inexorably crept into all the nooks and crannies of our lives. Take cell phones. The technological advancements of these devilishly addictive devices have made them a fundamental part of our lives. We keep…
STYROFEST… I have been hearing about this colossal event since I started with the City of Kirkland Solid Waste team in June. But not until I experienced the organized chaos myself, did I really understand. The sheer volume of Styrofoam…
Having grown up in Olympia, WA and currently attending college in Bellingham, WA, I thought I knew all there is to know about solid waste. I mean, I recycle and Western even banned the distribution of plastic disposable water bottles…
Every week we dutifully drag our three carts to the curb for pickup, and the materials we’ve carefully sorted are taken away…but where, exactly, do they go? As Kirkland’s new Solid Waste Education and Outreach Specialist, it was important to…
Have you noticed your Facebook friends capturing random acts of kindness? Well if you haven’t – you can be the first. I have friends that walk elderly people across the street, pay for the person behind them in the coffee…
On October 11th, I went for a ride-along on the food recycling route with Waste Management. I got up REALLY early (3:45am), squeezed into the trucks tiny side seat (I am 6’1”) and witnessed how the route is done. Why?…
At the end of each summer, staff from the Public Works Department put on their rubber boots and head out to local creeks to collect samples of stream bugs. The scientific term for these creatures is “benthic macroinvertebrates” (benthic =…
I’m sure we can all remember back in school when it was “field trip day.” It was an opportunity to get a break from the daily monotony of the classroom, see the world, and experience and learn something new. Whether…