Orcas Island ExchangeUpdate: Plastic Bag Ban
Jan 1 Update: Governor Inslee has delayed the implementation of the plastic bag ban citing supply chain issues affecting retailers’ ability to procure the alternative bags due to the coronavirus pandemic. We’ll keep you updated as…
A Heartfelt Thanks to Our Volunteers
Our docents have done a super job this year working at the “Z-wall” to help customers understand how to correctly separate cardboard for recycling. Our customers get it and we have very little contamination in the cardboard bin. The docents…
Where does our e-waste go?
We were asked recently where the electronics recycling for Orcas goes, so we decided to go check it out. Turns out it goes to a cool little operation north of Lynnwood, WA called E-Wastes. We got…
New Glass Crusher on The Way
Thanks to your support over the last year, we have placed a $57,000 down payment on a new glass crushing system from Andela Products Company, of Richfield Springs, NY. Glass has little or no value as…
Recycling Tip: The Scoop On Recycling Plastic Film
For more than a year ORS has been encouraging folks to put all plastic film (plastic bags, plastic wraps, bubble wraps, air pillows, etc) in the garbage, and out of the mixed recycling. Yet folks often…
Sew4ZeroWaste Helps Coordinate Orcas Mask Makers
Sew4ZeroWaste is a sewing and recycling craft workshop run by Asifa Pasin, a Board Member at ORS/The Exchange. The group has recently pivoted their focus and has been providing PPE for our local Island community. It…
Islanders Keep Great Islands Clean-Up Alive!
The Great Islands Clean-Up (“GICU”) has been a County-wide celebration for the last seven years. Participants band together and scour the islands to pick up all the litter along the roads and beaches on Orcas, Lopez,…
Compost Inspiration
Greetings Composters! April’s sunny skies have a lot of us out in the gardens…and hopefully working on composting. In this month’s column we are sharing some unique videos to watch for inspiration and instruction while you’re…
Great Islands Clean Up becomes Month-long Individual Effort
The Spring Great Islands Clean Up has been cancelled, but you can still do your part. In honor of Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary this April, Islanders are encouraged to use the whole month to help tidy…
Exchange in The Seattle Times!
Thanks to Orcas art teacher Brook Meinhardt and her “Art Kit” project for kids stuck at home (and parents running out of ideas) The Exchange got some press in the big city. Our thanks to Brook,…
