Waste Wise
Program Contact: Sarah Bergquist, Waste Wise Program Coordinator
360-639-6062 • sarah.bergquist@wsu.edu
WSU Waste Wise of Island County
Waste is about more than what goes to the landfill. It is about resource consumption, waste of work time, habitat loss, carbon footprint, environmental inequity, public health, pollution, and more.
WSU Waste Wise of Camano and Whidbey Islands is an education outreach program supported by staff and volunteers who share with others throughout the greater community what they learn in training.
We teach practical waste diversion skills like composting and vermiculture, how to recycle correctly, and safe ways to handle household hazardous waste. Our programs highlight simple, effective ways to reduce and reuse so we can all live more lightly on the planet.
Waste Wise works at schools, fairs, information booths, businesses, and other settings. This work is important because:
- Our global and local trash production continues to climb – 71% over the last 20 years! (Population growth was only 31%)
- Organic waste (food and yard waste) in our landfills is estimated to be nearly 23% and contributes to climate change by creating methane gas
- Plastic packaging & products are 40+% of the landfill content that can not be recycled
- We have no active landfill in Island County and transport out of the county is costly
- Our drinking water comes from one sole source underground aquifer
- We live in a beautiful place and want to keep it that way!
Island County is made up of islands. Most of our drinking water comes from groundwater. To protect our drinking water, Island County closed its Coupeville landfill in 1992 and converted it to a transfer station. All solid waste is transported out-of-county – in fact, to the Roosevelt Regional Landfill in south central Washington.
On Camano and Whidbey Islands, trash is collected at five transfer points called drop-box facilities, located at Camano Hill Road, Oak Harbor, Coupeville, Freeland and Bayview. It is then trucked to a railhead on the mainland, where it is loaded aboard trains and transported to Roosevelt Regional Landfill in Southeast Washington, for disposal. This is expensive, resource intensive and carbon-intensive. The most important path to lowering our waste footprint is to consume less and re-use more.
Waste Wise is a program with Washington State University Extension, Island County and supported by Island County Solid Waste. You will find us at the WSU Extension Office in the Coupeville (staffed Monday – Friday). We are located at 406 N. Main Street and on Camano Island at the Multipurpose Building at 141 NE Camano Drive (by appointment).
For additional information, please contact us:
Sarah Bergquist, WSU Island County Extension Director & Waste Wise Whidbey Program Coordinator
- Phone: 360-639-6062
- Email: sarah.bergquist@wsu.edu
- Fax: 360-678-6680
- WSU Extension – Island County – 406 N. Main, Coupeville, WA 98239
Heather Vitiaz, Camano Island Programs Coordinator
- Phone: 360-639-4608 (office) 206-334-5467 (mobile)
- Email: heather.vitiaz@wsu.edu
- WSU Extension – Island County, 141 NE Camano Drive, Camano, WA (by appointment)
Get involved!
Sustainability and Waste Wise Training Page
“The Plastic Detox – Free Film Screening & Discussion
Saturday, October 17th, 10:30 – 12:30 pm @ Camano Library
The Plastic Detox: Join us for a free screening on Saturday, October 17th, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm.
Produced by an Academy Award-winning team, The Plastic Detox follows six couples struggling with infertility who agree to participate in a massive plastic detox of their homes and lives. This “intervention” changes their lives and their families forever. You’ll never look at plastic the same way again! Watch the trailer here.
The film will be followed by a panel featuring expert speakers: Heather Trim, Executive Director, Zero Waste Washington, and Sarah Bergquist, Director, WSU Island County Extension, and panel moderator, Heather Vitiaz, WSU Island County Extension – Camano Coordinator, who will shed more light on the impacts of plastic on human health and fertility as well as how you can help plug in to efforts to reduce toxic chemicals in plastic and minimize your own and others’ exposure to microplastics. Learn more about plastics and health with our educational partners at Beyond Plastics
WSU Eco Book Group & Mini-Training, Monday, October 12th
This month is a “choose your own adventure” in that participants are invited to read an eco-themed book that interests them and present what they learned to the group in a fun and low-pressure way. We are meeting at the Camano Library at 12:15 – 1:15 pm and hope to see you there!
3rd Annual Camano Homestead Fair set for Saturday, May 22nd 2027
Plastic Plant Pot Exchange Spring 2027 – Date TBD
WSU Camano Waste Wise Training Begins October 7th
WSU Waste Wise Camano Training will be taking place one afternoon/evening a month starting in October and going through June. Everyone 14+ are welcome to join anytime throughout the year. Contact Heather.Vitiaz@wsu.edu to learn more!
Composting
- Household Hazardous Waste Residents in Island County can dispose of household hazardous waste for free at county transfer facilities on Whidbey and Camano Islands. For a list of locations, hours and what is accepted […]
- About Waste Wise Volunteers Waste Wise Volunteers come from all walks of life and share the conviction that we must care for these beautiful islands to protect our quality of life.
- Island County Waste Curbside recycling, self-sorting, and proper disposal of household hazardous waste…