Waste Loop Works Toward Innovative Solutions to Waste Issues

Photo 1: Colin Sternagel, Liam Elio and Heleene Tambet sort through commercial waste from Leavenworth during the Waste Loop audit. The waste was sorted into categories and weighed to calculate percentages in each category. Photo courtesy of Waste Loop. Photo 2: A group of Waste Loop employees, board members and volunteers help sort through commercial waste from Leavenworth during the Waste Loop audit. The waste was sorted into categories and weighed to calculate percentages in each category. Photo courtesy of Waste Loop. Photo 3: This pile of plastic bags represents one category of items sorted for an audit of one Leavenworth restaurant. Photo courtesy of Waste Loop.

Posted Thursday, August 12, 2021 9:44 am

Marlene Farrell

The mission of the nonprofit Waste Loop is to transform local waste streams into sustainable resources and to inspire innovative solutions to local waste and recycle challenges. The organization was born in 2019 out of a living room discussion amongst concerned friends. Recycling wasn’t totally lacking, but more could be done.

Previously, another group, Leavenworth Recycles, helped the city establish a contract with Waste Management for residential areas which included single stream recycling. In 2019 glass was struck from the acceptable list of recyclables, and Ariahna Jones, other concerned citizens and members of the now dormant Leavenworth Recycles started Waste Loop to work toward a fix for glass and also to help businesses reduce their environmental impact.

Solutions don’t come easy. The downtown core is challenging. Pick up of recyclables requires navigating narrow alleyways and the hauling fees can be cost prohibitive. One entity, like Waste Management, can’t do it all because solutions need to be tailored to each business. “We need to find the best fit for everyone,” said Jones, now the part-time executive director of Waste Loop. “We look for opportunities for partnership.”

Waste Loop runs the city’s Leavenworth Recycling Center at 216 14^th Street, where residents can bring their single stream recycling (plastic, aluminum, tin and paper), corrugated cardboard and glass. Each goes to a different processor: Spokane for the single stream recyclables, Wenatchee for the cardboard and Seattle for the glass.

For about two years, Waste Loop also crushed some of the glass. They inherited a glass crusher from Sleeping Lady, and produced industrial “cullet,” similar to what was produced by Methow Recycles, which Jones recognizes as a regional leader. After a while, both groups found there wasn’t much of a market for the cullet. Thus, local glass crushing is temporarily on hold.

A current focus for the organization is organics, which includes yard and food waste. This spring, Waste Loop conducted an organic waste characterization study for the city, building on the initial study done by a consultancy in 2019. A Department of Ecology grant funded the study. Waste Loop members and volunteers spent two days sorting and characterizing a total of 2500 pounds of the city’s commercial waste. “On average, 50% of the waste was organic materials and 17% was glass,” said Jones. “The city pays $200,000 just in hauling fees, so it could easily save half of that if these types of waste were diverted. That money could be used for infrastructure and education.”

A closer look at the garbage from a few downtown restaurants revealed that, for these businesses, 84% was organic materials. This information helped Waste Loop develop a feasibility study for the city about organic waste drop off and pick up logistics.

Jones explained they hope to work with nearby Winton Manufacturing Compost Works, which is, by serendipity, gearing up its operations for commercial composting. This sort of composting can handle meat, dairy and bones because of the process involves grinding and higher heat to make a nutrient rich soil-like material. This is also helpful given this region is in the apple maggot quarantine zone, so all organic waste has to be handled locally.

Waste Loop also has ambitions to help Cascade School District (CSD) finally establish a robust recycling infrastructure. Now paper recycling falls as a burden onto motivated students and staff to make sure it gets to the one collection bin behind IRMS. Little progress could be made during the challenges of the pandemic. However, CSD has made environmental sustainability part of its new strategic framework, so Jones is hopeful that Waste Loop and CSD can work toward single stream recycling and composting.

Waste Loop depends on donations, sponsorship and grants, including one from the Icicle Fund, to cover operational costs.

“At Waste Loop, we want to be the resource to help businesses and organizations take steps toward zero waste,” said Jones. “We’re willing to do the dirty work.”

SIDE BAR

Recycling is available for drop off at the Leavenworth Recycling Center.

Where: 216 14^th Street, across from the Community Cupboard

When: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:30pm, and Saturdays, 11am-3pm.

What:

Single Stream – mixed paper, aluminum, tin cans and plastic bottles. Recyclables need to be clean, dry and empty.
Cardboard – flattened, corrugated
Glass – free of plastic labels, plastic rings and foil
Yard waste is accepted from City of Leavenworth residents only. This waste includes leaves, pine needles, limbs cut to less than 4 feet and paper lawn bags.

For more information, go to: www.wasteloop.org