courtesy photo: Rue MaCall
The Ragfinery team poses in the doorway of their warehouse facing Forest Street in downtown Bellingham.
by Meghan Fenwick
After years of discussion and study, Sanitary Service Company (SSC) will be transitioning from three-bin collection to single-stream recycling in all single-family homes in Bellingham by the end of this year. Through the new system, residents will compile their glass, plastic, paper and cardboard in a 90-gallon toter as opposed to three small bins.
The majority of the materials Whatcom residents recycle is sent to one of two material recovery facilities (MRF) to be shipped and sold in the commodity market.
In considering the impact of this transition, industry, government, and residents have turned their eye to other parts of the state and country. A closer look into the international web of recycling reveals the big-picture: not all plastic, paper, glass and cardboard reach the same fate. Some can be turned into new goods, such as packaging for an eco-friendly product. Due to a variety of setbacks at the collection, processing, or end-market phases, a recycled plastic bottle can end up in the same place it would if originally thrown in a dumpster.
According to The Recycling Partnership’s 2024 report (1), 79 percent of recyclable material from U.S single-family and multifamily homes ends up in landfills. The majority is lost at the household level when consumers do not recycle at all. Three percent of recycled material is lost due to contamination when it arrives at an MRF. Contamination can occur when broken glass or food residue impact paper or cardboard.
In the City of Bellingham’s contract with SSC, all single-family homes are required to purchase garbage and recycling collection services, with rates varying depending on service type, frequency and location. SSC customers can also opt into the FoodPlus program at an additional cost, preventing compostables like food scraps and yard waste from taking up room in your household garbage bin and at landfills.
Bellingham’s culture of diverting waste extends beyond municipal codes. Many businesses and nonprofit organizations are dedicated to the old adage of reduce, reuse, and recycle. Local stops like Living Pantry (2) and Ragfinery (3) offer community members a way to slow or stop waste at the source through upcycling and zero-waste living.
Single-Stream Addresses Market Woes
SSC cites rising costs as the primary motivation to make the switch. The three-bin collections resulted in more manual labor for drivers, who exit the truck on every stop to physically empty up to one-and-a-half tons of material. Biweekly pickups with automated arms to pick up the toters will cut down on mileage and emissions. By cutting down on operational costs, SSC hopes to avoid future drastic rate-hikes, especially at the whim of the international recycling market.
According to a study by the Washington State Department of Ecology (4), around 3.8 to 11.5 percent of recycled material is lost between the collection and end-market phase across all collection strategies. In single-stream collection, that range jumps up to 16.6 to 31 percent.
“The contamination is something that folks are concerned about, and I understand that,” said Ted Carlson, general manager of SSC in a City Council meeting in Feb. 2023. “But most people understood the need to automate for the other reasons, the reasons that are surrounding the number of trucks on the road, the emissions, and some of the labor concerns that are difficult to get around. I think the answer to that is to try to leverage the good job that the citizens of Bellingham have been doing by keeping their materials clean, and continue to educate and do outreach to try to keep that high level of standard and try to keep the contamination rates down.”
During a single-stream pilot program in Bellingham’s Edgemoor neighborhood in 2022, SSC looked into concerns about glass contamination and studied the rate of recycling participation. They found roughly the participation and contamination rates to be roughly unchanged, and reduced labor costs by 65 percent.
Carlson said that SSC has worked with local community organizations like RE Sources (5) and Sustainable Connections (6) to educate the community on how to most effectively recycle. The hope is that the convenience of single-stream will lead to higher participation rates and higher yields to MRFs, offsetting some of the diversion lost to contamination.
RE Sources is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health of the environment, rooted in Bellingham since 1982. The RE Store helps achieve their mission of reducing waste, where architectural salvage is reused, recycled and sold to the community.
Sustainable Connections, established in 2002, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the local economy and environment in tandem. Sustainable Connection’s Toward Zero Waste program includes a directory for local repairs, including clothes, appliances, and everything in between. Many businesses in Bellingham seek to reduce their own consumption and aid community members in doing the same.
courtesy photo: Shawna Morris
Two Living Pantry team members man the register as natural light beams into their Bellingham location on James Street.
Living Pantry Reduces Waste
From a young age, Shawna Morris was taught to live naturally, but terms like eco-conscious and zero-waste were not as mainstream as they are today.
Shawna grew up in California, and her husband Seppi Morris in Pennsylvania. Their journey brought them to Oregon, Colorado, and even Costa Rica before moving to Blaine seven years ago to be close to family.
“When Covid happened, we found ourselves with a lot more time and loss of our current jobs,” Seppi said. “We decided it was the perfect time to open a business. Everyone said we were crazy.”
Shawna came up with the impetus for Living Pantry on a car ride with Seppi one day. She thought back to a bulk foods store she frequented in Colorado and called the owner immediately, who encouraged her and inspired more research.
“It just spiraled into more and more conversations with people that were kind of leading the way in refilling,” said Shawna. “I had never even heard of refilling body care or home care, but I originally envisioned every single thing a person uses. Not everything is possible yet, but it’s been pretty exciting to keep expanding what we can offer.”
At Living Pantry’s locations in Blaine and Bellingham, customers can bring in their clean containers and fill them with home or body care products, all sourced from the pacific northwest and many from Whatcom County. Another section of the brick-and-mortar offers retail and gift items, such as utensils, scrubs and sponges, and even Lucky Cups, a series of animal themed ceramic cups made by local artist Cary Lane.
The products sold in Living Pantry have evolved over time, influenced by both the customers and the vendors. When their first location opened in Blaine in 2020, they sought to fill a community need. Blaine did not have many retail stores that offered home and body care products.
“The whole motto of Living Pantry is not only do you as the consumer get to ask a new question, but we get to ask new questions of our vendors,” Shawna said. “We ask our vendors if they can change their packaging, or if we can give them back some packaging to reuse. You don’t even have to be that brave to ask these questions, but we’re trained to not step outside of our lane.”
Uncle Harry’s Natural Products was willing to join Living Pantry’s movement. Living Pantry carries almost all of the Renton-based company’s products. They purchased five-gallon containers to exchange products back and forth. Bellingham’s own Booda Organics has a similar relationship with Living Pantry, where refillable deodorant is exchanged through large jars.
If a customer is not able to commit to the zero-waste lifestyle, the folks at Living Pantry understand. If you do not have a jar, a pantry of donated jars is awaits you. If one of their products can improve your lifestyle and is more convenient, like a dish towel that can save you from buying up to 17 rolls of paper towels, you can take that step without eliminating all plastic waste from your life. Some community members come into the store just to have a conversation, or even to take a deep breath, said Shawna.
“Zero-waste stores, in my experience, are more rigid,” Seppi said. “They won’t have a single piece of plastic on the shelf, for example. If we can get someone to buy a product in a plastic jar, but then bring that one back to refill it, that’s making forward progress.”
According to Seppi, Living Pantry customers have saved 25,863 containers to date. A running tally broken down into container types is proudly displayed on the front door of the Bellingham location.
“People start to enjoy filling up their own containers,” said Living Pantry employee Hannah Carpenter. They come in with really cool reused alcohol bottles that have a fun shape or a cool label on it. People start to carry that set on their shoulders that shows they’re proud of the choices that they’re making. It happens faster than you would expect.”
courtesy photo: Rue MaCall
Ragfinery team member assesses the condition of a donated garment and gives it an opportunity for new life.
Rejuvenating Textiles at Ragfinery
In addition to the recycled materials, compost, and garbage, SSC will pick up miscellaneous items like aerosol cans, scrap metal and motor oil when placed beside the regular bins. See SSC’s website for specific guidelines.
For items that do not make SSC’s list, Whatcom County’s Health and Community Service department offers a WasteWise (7) portal, where residents can search for specific items and discover recycling options.
A study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (8) revealed that, in 2018, 11.3 million tons of textile waste was landfilled, while only 2.5 million tons was recycled. The WasteWise search result for clothing includes a list of thrift stores where clothes can be donated, and suggests that damaged clothing can be “upcycled.”
Upcycling — or extending the life of a product by mending the damage — is the status quo at Ragfinery, a Bellingham staple since 2014. The nonprofit organization seeks to provide community support through job training, sustainable development and environmental protection. Ragfinery sells clothing and material and aids their customers in giving otherwise valuable items a second chance.
“The industry profits off of us not understanding what happens to clothes after we get rid of them,” said program manager Rue MaCall. “It is not an individual’s fault for not knowing everything, it is absolutely designed to function that way. When we do learn, all we can do is do our best with the resources and knowledge that we have.”
MaCall moved to Bellingham in 2021 and wandered into Ragfinery looking for a new hobby. The first item she mended herself was a pair of leggings that her puppy chewed up years ago. She held onto them with no sewing experience, foreshadowing her newfound career. Soon, she was creating tote bags with upholstery fabric and dresses with tablecloths.
“Sometimes it can be as small as dyeing a garment or putting a patch over a grease stain on a shirt,” MaCall said. “It’s the small things that keep it in the wear-cycle that not only makes you feel good about what you’re doing for the environment, but I think it adds to personal unique style and like personality, too.”
Ragfinery’s Rags to Riches runway show on Oct. 26 will showcase the artistry of upcycling and raise funds for the program. Design entries require 75 percent of material from Ragfinery and three upcycled elements.
MaCall hopes that this event will bring awareness of Ragfinery’s programs. A common misconception is that they provide fiber-to-fiber recycling, or “downcycling,” which can look like shredding a garment and re-spinning it into another. This can be an expensive process, and inherently decreases the value of the item. Many new customers are unaware of the educational side of the organization, and many artists are surprised by the retail experience.
While buying used clothing or crafting your own can be budget-friendly, many aspects of the eco-friendly lifestyle can be inaccessible. Time, money and knowledge can be barriers of entry to reducing your carbon footprint. Ragfinery is working to identify and alleviate those pressures, said MaCall.
“Sometimes people who are queer or in marginalized communities might not have great relationships with their families disconnected from them, severed from family members and family lines,” MaCall said. “And a lot of the time, craft is passed down through families and through matriarchs. This is the space where those skills can be passed down through community members.”
Every Tuesday from 12:00 p.m to 2:00 p.m is an open session at Ragfinery’s community classroom, where a volunteer oversees free use of sewing machines and other equipment. Free entry-level sewing classes are offered once a quarter, and other classes are offered on both the weekends and weekdays to help accommodate a variety of work schedules. A community closet greets customers outside the shop, which is stocked with clothes periodically for those in need.
According to their website, Ragfinery has diverted over a million pounds of textile waste from landfills since 2014.
“It can feel like a drop in the bucket, but if we’re educating one person a week to change one habit — maybe learning to mend something and sharing that with someone they know — that means we’re doing something, “ MaCall said. “The illusion is fading away that this industry is sustainable. I don’t think consumers will allow it to continue the way it’s going, so I’m hopeful that big change will come.”
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Meghan Fenwick is a graduate of Western Washington University who recently earned her degree in environmental journalism
References:
- https://recyclingpartnership.org/residential-recycling-report/
- https://livingpantry.com/
- https://www.ragfinery.com/
- https://ecology.wa.gov/waste-toxics/reducing-recycling-waste/plastics/plastics-study
- https://www.re-sources.org/
- https://sustainableconnections.org/
- https://www.whatcomcounty.us/3296/Garbage-Recycling
- https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-specific-data
