Submitted by Lopez Solid Waste District
Underscoring their commitment with a whopping 85 percent majority vote, Lopez voters on Tuesday ushered in a new era of community-based waste disposal with passage of the Lopez Solid Waste Levy.
The one-year levy of 9.514 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation will help pay for waste disposal and recycling services at the former county transfer station, which – come January – will be operated by the Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District.
In strictly financial terms passing the levy means the Lopez disposal district will be able to carry out the goals of reducing waste disposal fees to $8 per can and offering free source-separated recycling. However, the broader implications of the levy passage go far beyond the price of garbage disposal.
“With 85 percent voting in favor of the levy, Lopezians have said loud and clear that they want to be stewards of their garbage and recycling future,” says Bruce Creps, a member of the five-person LSWDD Managing Board. “Passing the levy allows us to not only keep our dump and Take-It-Or-Leave-It open, but to work on viable alternatives to the unsustainable garbage system we have in this country.”
The added revenue will allow the district to go forward with plans for a greatly expanded recycle program that could eventually include E-waste, construction waste, composting and more.
“The opportunities for recycling will be hugely expanded — more comprehensive and unlike anything the county has seen,” agrees Facilities Manager Neil Hanson, who will continue in that position under LSWDD management.
Past recycling efforts, Hanson says, have been limited to a short list of “mixed unlike materials,” which often destroys their value. Returning to a source-separated system for glass, paper, plastic and metal items will preserve the value of the recyclables and provide the greatest return. (Commingled recyclables will continue to be accepted, for a fee.)
With an increase in the number of items that can be recycled will come a decrease in the volume of garbage that ultimately must be shipped off of Lopez, inching Lopez ever closer to the ultimate goal of Zero Waste.
“Whereas most garbage systems plan for growth, our business plan calls for steadily reducing the amount of garbage that we ship off island each year,” says Creps. “As we Lopezians move down the path toward Zero Waste, the amount of garbage that we transport 350 miles to our regional landfill will be less and less. The good news is that the path to Zero Waste and the path to lowering our long-term cost for garbage are one and the same.”
The strength of the levy vote underscores the strong sense of community among Lopezians and their commitment to protecting the facility they consider one of the island’s greatest treasures.
Kate Steidl, who works at Napa Auto Parts in Islands Marine Center, spent many hours volunteering for the campaign to save the Dump, first in gathering petition signatures and then on the levy campaign.
“I am so glad that the votes are in and that this is coming to fruition,” she says. “I started by attending meetings and learning about the vision, and then spending time to support the cause. It is so amazing what working together with the community can accomplish, and the proof is the passing of the levy.”
“So many gave so much to bring us to this point,” says LSWDD Board Member Sandy Bishop, a longtime champion of the movement to bring the dump under local control. “It was like a relay race. When someone got tired after giving all they could, someone else stepped forward and took the baton. On it went until finally we reached this moment.”
