by Alex Russell
About a third of the waste that goes into the local landfill is made up of paper or plastic. Every year people moving or cleaning out the garage discard used books, CDs and DVDs that eventually find their way into the trash. I’ve recently started as a Public Relations volunteer with Eco Encore, a Seattle-based non-profit that since 2002 has sold unwanted media online, keeping more paper and plastic out of landfills, and donated the proceeds to local environmental non-profits like Futurewise and the Washington Trails Association.
It’s a small non-profit, and its only paid staff in their SODO offices are the operations manager and assistant, both of which are on part-time. The organization thrives on its board and its volunteers, which means more money goes to the Eco Encore recipients rather than a receptionist and mail clerk and slick, high-powered PR guy.
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books, CDs, DVDs, Eco Encore, environmental, Futurewise, landfill, non-profit, Seattle, trash, used, Washington
by Alex Russell
Today I’m going today to the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill, where all of King County but the cities of Seattle and Milton, sends their trash to be buried and forgotten.
I’m developing a series of stories around waste and how we as a society manage it. From what I’ve read, the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill is a model for the region, and uses modern waste-management technology—everything from laying thick plastic and runoff collection pipes when they dig a pit, to piping the toxic gas away from the trash pile to be burned.
For how I’ll report about the issue, I’m thinking primarily about how to connect regular people with the process of waste disposal. It’s a process that should be as familiar as how we can see in our supermarkets not only whether the fish behind the glass is wild-caught, but from what region as well as the name of the fisherman. A trip to the dump gives me a chance to literally dig through and see what most people never think about when they throw that bag of trash into a dumpster. I want to see how it all works on a day-to-day basis and report back.
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Cedar Hills, dump, garbage, landfill, Seattle trash, waste