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Squash your waste this fall
Leaves are falling and pumpkins are arriving on grocery store shelves! Welcome to the fall edition of Recycling and Garbage News. In this newsletter, we share tips for recycling right, composting your scraps from your favorite fall foods, preventing litter, and more.
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Recycle right this season
A season filled with candy and costumes can create a lot of waste! Help us recycle right by correctly sorting out these seasonal items.
Candy wrappers of all types and sizes belong in your garbage cart.
Bulk plastic candy tubs, like for licorice or sour straws, can be placed in your recycling cart, but make sure to place the lid in the garbage. |
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Trick or treat bags, buckets, and baskets can be reused, donated, or placed in the garbage after use.
Plastic platters, clamshells, and cupcake and bakery trays belong in the garbage. These plastics are the wrong shape for recycling. In Kitsap, we only accept four shapes of plastic packaging for recycling – bottles, jugs, jars, and dairy tubs. These shapes can be sorted at the sorting facility, are consistently purchased by companies to use in their manufacturing, and can be recycled using today's technologies.
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Costumes and other textiles can be reused, donated, or taken to a clothing recycling site. Consider participating in a costume swap hosted by a community organization or exchanging costumes with a friend. The Port Orchard Kitsap Regional Library is hosting a Halloween costume swap at the end of September into early October 2024.
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Don't let litter haunt our streets |
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 Get a free litter bag for your car
Each year, almost 38 million pounds of litter accumulates on Washington roadways. Help us keep our roads clean by keeping a litter bag in your car and throwing your trash in a bin.
Starting September 13, 2024, Washington State Department of Ecology is giving away free reusable car litter bags at local Fred Meyer Grocery Stores. Supplies are limited, so get yours soon.
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 Fall in love with litter cleanup
Want to help keep our streets clean and litter-free? Join our Adopt a Spot volunteer litter program! We provide participating volunteers with cleanup supplies and free litter disposal.
We welcome individuals, households, and organizations to join this community effort.
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Compost your food scraps, pumpkins, and more!
You can compost your favorite fall foods! From pumpkin pies and turkey bones to coffee grounds and filters, all food scraps and leftovers can be added to your yard waste cart for composting. Learn more about including the food on our ins and outs of composting webpage.
Take extra care when composting pumpkins
Each year, the United States produces more than 1.2 billion pounds of pumpkins during the fall season. Most of these pumpkins are grown for decorative purposes and a small portion are made into pies and puree (USDA).
Don't let the labor and resources used to produce your jack-o-lantern go to waste! Once your pumpkin has rotted, turn it into another valuable resource — compost. You can place pumpkins that are free of paint and glitter in your food and yard waste cart. Pumpkins decorated with paint or glitter should be placed in your garbage.
 Compost kit giveaway
Looking for a convenient way to store your food scraps in your kitchen? Sign our pledge to compost right and receive a free compost toolkit, while supplies last! Toolkits include a kitchen pail, BPI certified compostable bags, and other educational resources.
Learn more about composting options in Kitsap in this year's Everyday Kitsap magazine.
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Community events and resources
Got a hole in your favorite fall sweater? Instead of donating or throwing it out—bring it to an upcoming Fix-it Fair! Kitsap Fix-it Fairs are free community events that bring together volunteers with fixing skills and community members with broken items.
 Other community events
Groups and organizations are paving the way for a more sustainable Kitsap. Check out these waste reduction events happening around our community:
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People’s Exchange in Bremerton hosts a free mending meetup each month on the second Friday.
- WSU Kitsap Extension is hosting a free virtual Food Safety and Meal Planning workshop on September 25, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. Learn proper food handling techniques and meal preparation tips to reduce food waste. Register through Eventbrite.
Resources and creative ways to reduce waste
Learn more about preventing and reducing waste with these resources:
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Facility news
New accessible recycling bins at the Hansville Recycling and Garbage Facility
In June 2024, we began a pilot program at our Hansville facility to make recycling more accessible for everyone. We installed new recycling dumpsters that are low to the ground and don't require stairs to use.
“Our goal is to make using our facilities more customer-friendly and easy to access,” says Solid Waste Program Manager, Kevin Bevelhimer. Community members are welcome to use the new bins located at the front of the Hansville recycling yard.
Our pilot with these new bins was successful, so we plan to install them at the Olalla and Silverdale Recycling and Garbage Facilities in 2025.
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Contact information
Kitsap County Public Works, Solid Waste Division, 360.337.5777 or solidwaste@kitsap.gov
Kimberly Pleger, Public Works Communications Manager, 360.337.5777 or kpleger@kitsap.gov
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