Island County offers to trade compost bins for empty burn barrels

Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release - September 9, 2010

10-232

OLYMPIA – Island County residents can trade their empty burn barrels for free compost bins during three events in September.

The use of burn barrels is illegal in Washington. The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology), Island County Public Works, and local organizations are working together on a project that will collect and destroy barrels in Island County. They want to reduce the risk of wildfires in the county, along with the harmful smoke that wildfires produce.

Outdoor residential burning, which is illegal in most parts of Washington, is a leading cause of wildfire ignitions across the state. Wildfires destroy property, harm the environment and endanger people.

They also produce smoke that can harm people. Breathing fine particles in smoke can cause health problems like asthma, emphysema and lung cancer.

Island County residents can trade their empty burn barrels at these locations while supplies of compost bins last:

From 4 to 6:30 p.m. Sept. 13, 2010, at Bayview Recycle Park, 5790 S. Kramer Road, Langley. (Across the highway and one block south of Sebo’s at Kramer Road.) For information, call (360) 678-7974.
From noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 18 at Coupeville Solid Waste Complex, 20018 State Route 20, Coupeville. (About 1.5 miles southbound from the Coupeville Main Street intersection, immediately at Mile Marker 20.) For information, call (360) 678-7974.
From noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 18 on Can Ku Road on Camano Island. (Look for signs near CASA Animal Shelter.) For information, call (360) 387-3443, ext. 258.

Also involved in this effort are Northwest Clean Air Agency; Washington State University (WSU) Waste Wise; WSU Island County Extension; Whidbey Island Conservation District; North, Central and South Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue; Camano Island Fire and Rescue; and Snohomish Conservation District. The agencies are using a grant from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for the work.

For similar events in other counties, view the right hand column of Ecology's Air Quality Program Alternatives to burning website.

###

Media Contacts:

Seth Preston, Ecology communications manager, 360-407-6848; 360-584-5744 cell; seth.preston@ecy.wa.gov
Janet Pearce, DNR Communications and Outreach, 360-902-1122; janet.pearce@dnr.wa.gov

What you can do instead of burning: www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/outdoor_woodsmoke/alternativestoburn.htm

Check out ECOconnect, Ecology’s blog: http://ecologywa.blogspot.com/

Follow Ecology on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ecologywa