By JOAN GREEN

Earth month is a great time to think about our personal waste stream. Many folks don’t feel great about throwing away things that can be used again. Not only is it wasteful, but it impacts our air pollution here on the island.

Our Whidbey Island, trash travels 400 miles to the Roosevelt landfill at the southern border of Washington along the Columbia River. This is an inefficient process, and it creates hazardous air pollution and exacerbates global warming. At the end of the route, the trash containers are hauled up the side of an 1,800-foot hill. Just this last step alone to get containers from the train terminal up to the landfill uses 40,000 gallons of diesel fuel per day! Island County is responsible for 5-10 of the 300 containers sent to the landfill per day.

So when we refuse, reduce and reuse, we are taking important steps that impact our environment. A local organization, rePurpose Whidbey, was founded in 2021 and is committed to reducing the items going to the landfill through zero waste education, community action and policy work. You can become a rePurpose member which helps support their zero waste efforts on Whidbey. Here are a few innovative programs that promote reusables as a way to reduce pollution:

rePurpose Reuse Center Open Hours

Wednesdays from 12-4 p.m.

Coffman Building at the Whidbey Island Fairgrounds

819 Camano Ave. in Langley

Shop for reusable items like art supplies, packing materials, fabric, cards, gift bags and more for educators, artists, families and community members. Items are available by donation. Get creative and reuse instead of buying new. Because of limited space, rePurpose can only accept items from their members at this time.

Reusable Dishware for Events

rePurpose owns hundreds of sets of reusable dishware that are available to Whidbey Island residents to rent for parties large and small. Whether you’re hosting a small dinner party or a large gathering, rePurpose can provide everything from dinner plates and utensils to wine glasses and cloth napkins. Everything is available at an affordable price. Pick up is in Langley. Learn more about the dishware rental program here.

Buy Nothing Whidbey Island South Facebook Page

A great resource for reusable items is the Buy Nothing Project. This is a Facebook group page where community members can ask for items and gift items that they no longer need. rePurpose is not affiliated with Buy Nothing but sees it as a great way to keep items out of the landfill. The Buy Nothing Whidbey Island South Facebook Page is an active group and a great resource to use before buying new items, or before throwing something away.