The holiday season is a wonderful time for family gatherings filled with cheer, delicious treats, gift exchanges and… trash. Do your part this holiday season to get more out of the former by producing less of the latter. Here are a few tips to cut the waste out of the season: Wrapping paper Nonfoil wrapping […]
Chris Piercy
Currently the recycling coordinator for Kitsap County's Solid Waste Division, Chris has worked in the environmental industry for nine years. Seven of those have been in the solid waste management industry. He received his bachelor's degree in environmental science from Western Washington University. Chris grew up on the Kitsap Peninsula and is passionate about keeping the peninsula green and preserving the natural wonders available in this wonderful area. He is an avid golfer. Chris, his wife and their three dogs enjoy spending their weekends exploring the great Northwest by land and water. 360-337-5777
How to Help Keep Our Streets Litter-Free
About half the litter along Kitsap County roadsides is “intentional” litter, meaning that it was the intent of the litterer to litter. The other half of the remaining litter is the result of passive or “unintentional” littering. Unsecured/undersecured vehicle loads, windblown debris from car windows or pickup truck beds, and other unnoticeable actions contribute to […]
Green Living: Don’t Trash Your Tree!
During the weeks after Thanksgiving, I saw numerous trees on top of cars and in pickup trucks — heading home for their two to four weeks of glory, decorated as the family or office Christmas tree. The sadder side of this story is that all of these trees were headed toward their inevitable death and […]
Green living: Recycling Options Exist Outside the Blue Bin
With the changing of seasons, often comes some cleanup around the house. Perhaps you have a large amount of yard debris, a lawnmower that has “kicked the bucket,” some leftover lawn fertilizer that you don’t want to keep through the winter, or — for that matter — anything that isn’t acceptable or won’t fit in […]
Give Second Life to Old Plant Pots
Now that the gardening season is in full swing, after a productive planting session, do you find yourself with an abundance of extra plant pots? Whatever you do, don’t throw them in your recycling bin! Plant pots are often too dirty to recycle, and are made of a low-value resin that is not accepted in […]
Waste Less This Holiday Season
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Americans dispose of 25 percent more trash than normal in the time frame between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. To put that in perspective, that’s an additional 1 million tons of garbage nationally. The holidays present plenty of obvious opportunities to create more garbage — wrapping paper, […]
Collected Yard Debris Get New Life as Next Year’s Compost
Now that fall is upon us, I have started to notice the changing leaves on my way to and from the office. The beautiful colors of fall always bring a smile to my face, but the mess that follows from falling debris quickly turns that smile upside down. It is a necessary evil for us […]
How to Make Your Summer Party More Environmentally Friendly
Summer is in full swing, and with it come backyard cookouts, camping trips and picnics. Unfortunately, these outings and get-togethers also include the generation of copious amounts of waste. Disposable plates, cutlery, cups and paper towels are just a few of the common wastes generated at your typical cookout or party, because we do have […]
How to Turn Your Yard Waste into Resources
If you are like me, this time of year brings a bit of (late) spring cleaning, coupled with hours of work getting your yard and garden back into shape. Unfortunately, the price we pay to live in such a lush and beautiful place is the annual cleanup of yard debris from our abundance of trees. […]
